To Every Messenger a Message

God has taught me a principle that helps me deal with criticism and praise from those who read my messages. It's a bit of personal instruction He offered to help me see my efforts to advance the kingdom the way He sees them. Maybe it will help you see yours in the same light.

We're all given messages from God to deliver to others. While every Christian has the same King, and we're all asked to bear witness of Him to the world, the way in which we do it is unique. Your message and mine are not the same. Some of us are called as healers, some as writers, some as pastors, and others fix cars and teach their children about Jesus.  Every believer has a unique set of messages to deliver, and every message has an audience.

One of the problems I struggled with for years was knowing how I would tell people about Jesus. One day God said to me, "I'll show you what's wrong with your patients. You pray, and I'll heal them." I'd be willing to bet that none of the 6 billion people on earth have received that exact same message. You have a message or two from God that are unique, just as mine are unique to me.

God has given me a number of different messages. I have a journal where I write them all down. When time allows, I write them up and post them on my blogs. My blogs allow the people who are interested in my messages to access them whenever they want. The blog followers are the audience God has provided for the messages He gives me. Not everyone is able to deliver their messages through a blog. I have my way to deliver my messages and you have your way. The way in which a message is delivered is unique to each messenger.

When I write a blog post, I try to limit myself to only those subjects that God has authorized me to speak on. When we're obedient to speak only the messages He gives us, to the audiences He provides, the ones who hear the messages are likely to receive them with gladness and they'll bear fruit. When I want to give my audience a message I haven't received from God, I recruit someone else to deliver their message on my blog. In this way, I'm able to provide my readers with a variety of topics, without going outside the authorization and revelation God has given me.

My messages have critics who occasionally post negative comments. Thankfully, God showed me how to deal with them. In a dream, people were leaving comments on the things I posted. Most of the comments were positive, but a few were negative. In the dream, I knew I had to keep posting my messages for the sake of those who were blessed by them. I didn't let the critics get me down, and neither should you.

What is My Message?
One of the problems is knowing what God has authorized us to speak on. Sometimes the issues we're authorized to speak on are given to us as passions that we have for certain subjects. Generally, your message will be on the subjects that God speaks to you about in your conversations with Him. I should give you fair warning: The subjects of these conversations are not always dictated by Him. I've been surprised at how talkative He can be and how much instruction He's willing to provide on subjects that I've brought up. Some of the information I've received has been for my benefit only. I don't always receive permission to speak on these subjects, publicly.

Knowing which subjects you've been given grace to speak on (and which ones you haven't) is critical to reaching the audience He's prepared. It also determines whether your message will bear fruit. While it may be tempting to speak on an issue out of what we understand about it from our personal experiences, it's best to speak from revelation we've receive directly from God. He can tailor our message so that it addresses the issue from His perspective, expresses His heart, and makes a positive impact on the audience who hears us. There are many subjects we might be authorized to speak on. You may or may not be called to speak on healing, but I  know it's one of my messages. You may be called to speak on abortion, while I may have no personal revelation from God on that issue. Whether we have authorization from God to speak on an issue does not make it any more or less important to God. We should avoid thinking that a subject is less important because God has not authorized us to speak on it.

Who is My Audience?
The other problem is speaking the right message but delivering it to the wrong audience. I have many friends who engage in heated debates on a daily basis, simply because they haven't realized that their message is not intended for a universal audience. They believe it's imperative for everyone to receive their message, but in reality, God has prepared the hearts of certain people who will receive their message and bear fruit from it. The two keys to bearing good fruit as a messenger are knowing your message and recognizing its intended audience.  Generally, you know you've found an audience with ears to hear when your message is received well by those who hear it. That's not to say we should never expect resistance if we're delivering our message to its intended audience. A skeptic, who is actually part of the intended audience, may initially resist your message. God may try to persuade them to consider a different point of view through your message. Over time, their heart may soften and they may develop hears to hear your message. But if hostility, rejection and quarreling are things you continually face, you may need to re-evaluate your message or the audience you're trying to reach. The apostle Paul was convinced that he was called to preach to the Jews, but God's intended audience for him was the Gentiles. His was a case of having the right message, but delivering it to the wrong audience.

I don't know what messages you're called to deliver and I don't know your audience. That's between you and God. All I can do is urge you to ask Him for the message He wants you to deliver. Once you have your message, trust that He will provide an audience who will receive it—no matter how small they might be. Some are called to speak to millions, some to thousands, and some, to only a handful of people. The size of your audience isn't important. What matters is your obedience to God. If you obey, you and your message will bear much fruit.

My Friend’s Deliverance – Kazuko Onishi

This testimony was sent to me by my friend Kazuko Onishi. I’d like to introduce her to those who don’t know her. Kazuko lives near Kobe, Japan. She was the first person in the country to purchase my book Divine Healing Made Simple. We became friends on Facebook and she asked if she might translate my articles and parts of the book into Japanese for her friends as there is very little written on healing and deliverance in her language. I agreed and before long she was teaching her friends what she was learning, mostly from my writings and those of Bill Johnson and Randy Clark, which she is also translated for her friends. This is the message she sent me about her first deliverance session, which came unexpectedly while having dinner with friends:

Hi Joseph, (That’s what she calls me.)  

I don’t know if you are interested in my story but I want to share it with you. I had G4 summit meeting last Saturday.  Two months ago I received a FB friend request from a woman I’ll call Tina who lives in New Zealand. She was impressed by your “Power and Authority” in Japanese on my FB.  She asked me if she could talk with me about healing and deliverance when she comes back to Japan. She is from Osaka. So I asked her if I could invite Robert too. (Robert is a mutual friend of ours.)

She came back to have a wedding to a man I’ll call Dan whom she met in New Zealand. Dan, who used to be a Muslim is now a fervent Christian too. So Tina, Dan, Robert, and I met together in Kobe. We had a great time talking, praising God, sharing testimonies, and praying together at my favorite cafe (The coffee there tastes so good).  We were talking for three hours and more and then Robert had to leave.

Dan invited me to have dinner with them so we went to my favorite Chinese restaurant.  After eating, I asked Tina if could pray for her because at the café she had said she always had pain in her toes. I asked about her pain level and she said she had no pain then because there was God’s presence around us.  Whenever there’s presence of God, she has no pain but only stiffness.  So I prayed and commanded her stiff toes to be flexible.

“Strange to say,” she said, “the pain came back to my toes.”

So I laid my hand there and commanded the pain to leave in Jesus name.

“It’s very strange, but it moved to another part,” she said.

“Where?” I asked.

It moved to her right cheek, then to her right neck and lastly to her throat. I prayed each time when it moved.  We were convinced it was the evil spirit that caused her pain and I commanded it to come out and leave from her mouth.  It became smaller and smaller but it was still stuck inside her throat.  I felt something in her throat moving under my hand.  Her body twitched a few times. I switched praying in Japanese to tongues and then she exhaled something. Finally it came out from her mouth and she said she saw a snake leaving in her vision.

It is the first deliverance I’ve ever had.

I sent a mail to Robert about it yesterday and he said he could see the snake manifesting in her at the cafe but didn’t say anything. He asked the Lord to show him the way to deliver the snake from her that night. He says that deliverance from a snake means much to us.

Robert is a seer and I always wanted to be like him. But now I think God gives each of us a different gift. I think God gives me a gift of healing (Of course I know every believer can heal the sick in the name of Jesus. But mine seems to be stronger). Tina’s headache was instantly healed when I laid my hand and prayed at the Café (she said my hand was so hot). Dan’s running nose was completely healed when I laid my hand on his nose and prayed twice at the restaurant. I’m sure Coreen has some special gift too. (Coreen is a mutual friend of ours.)

Good night, Joseph!
Mimi

If you know anyone who might benefit from the material Kazuko is translating into Japanese, she can be found on Facebook, here.

Are You Authorized?

My last post had to do with the subject of authority. The take home message was that each of us has been granted authority from God in a number of different areas. Metaphorically, these areas can be thought of as mountains. While it's helpful to know what specific subjects Jesus has given us authority over, it's also good to know the areas He has not given us authority over and what the consequences are when we get involved in things outside our scope of authority.

A few years ago I had a dream where Jesus came to the church to check the credentials of people who were teaching others about God. Those who were teaching without being authorized by Him were in a bit of trouble. The primary issue He was concerned with was authorization.  A secondary issue was the content that people were teaching. Many false ideas about God were being taught by people who weren't authorized by Him. Along with the Lord's authorization of someone to speak on a subject, came the content of their message. The fact that they needed to be authorized to speak on certain subjects came as a surprise to most people, even though Jesus warned us about this.

Social networking has become a global platform for anyone who wants to share their opinions about God. You don't have to look very far to see people publicly preaching their ideas about what or who God loves and hates. We're bombarded with theological opinions everywhere we go, and apparently, Jesus is listening to what we're saying.

Over the last few years, I've learned that Jesus is very interested in the things I say. What I'm authorized to speak on as a representative of my King is pretty limited. I'm authorized to speak on healing, deliverance, prophetic ministry, dreams, and a few other things, but the list is fairly small. I have opinions about things like tithing, the rapture, abortions, etc. I think I know what the bible says about them and I could offer my views if I wanted to, but God hasn't authorized me to speak on them. He hasn't given me specific revelation on them. Since I know that His authorization on a subject carries with it His revelation, the things He shares with me I'm willing to share with others, but the things He's silent on, I try to remain silent on. I don't want to to step outside the realm of authority He has authorized. One of the sticky points of  being granted authority is that in addition to giving us freedom to speak on certain issues, it restrains us from speaking on other issues. Jesus modeled this restraint by only saying what the Father authorized Him to say and doing what the Father authorized Him to do.

Due to our unique personalities, gifts, talents and life experiences, God authorizes each of us differently. Those who have been authorized to speak on a subject are given God's heart on that subject, the right life experiences and the right message. God also provides an audience with ears to hear the message. Having God's authorization to speak on a subject creates a favorable environment. Those who speak on subjects He has authorized tend to bear good fruit. Those who speak without His authorization bear the fruit of the flesh. Their messages tend to create discord, division, and enmity. Since God is not the author of confusion, if there is confusion surrounding a message there's a good chance that someone who is not authorized is doing the talking.

I'm often asked questions about things which God has given me no authority to speak on. An example is generation sins and curses. While I know people who have personal revelation from God on these subjects, I can't think of a single thing God has revealed to me about them. So when people ask me I simply tell them, "I have no revelation on that," and point them to people who have received revelation on it. There's no shame in admitting to your ignorance on a subject. If you give people counsel that isn't from God, you're probably going to lead them astray. I think it's wiser to say nothing on subjects we're not authorized to speak on.

My suggestion (if you're looking for one) is pretty simple: Check with Jesus and ask Him what you are and aren't authorized to speak on and make a list. Once you have clear direction from Him, ask Him to reveal His heart on those issues and confine your conversations to those which He has authorized you to speak on. Then watch how He moves through you.

Authority - How Does it Work?

There seems to be growing interest in the subject of authority these days.  I read the other night where an exasperated woman said she was “claiming her authority” over a desperate situation, as if this might help resolve her problem. I think statements like this reveal part of the problem with our understanding of authority. Most of us know we've been given authority from God, but we don't know how it works.

One thing to consider is the relational aspect of authority. It is often (though not always) the case that authority is permission granted to one person to represent the interests of another person who prefers not to manage their affairs personally. Authority is granted by one person and exercised by another. This arrangement makes authority dependent upon a relationship of trust.

The authority that a person receives usually gives them freedom to make decisions without requiring special permission before exercising their authority.  Authority is permission to act without permission. The exercise of authority is generally at the complete discretion of the one to whom it was granted, even if the exercise of authority is not wise, or beneficial to the one they represent. The one who has been granted authority has the right to make both good and bad decisions. Generally, the wise exercise of authority provides opportunities for promotion to a higher level of authority, while poor exercise of authority leads to a reduction or complete removal of it.

The concept of authority is illustrated in the kingdom parables where Jesus spoke about servants who were given charge of their master's affairs while their masters were away.  (See the parable of the faithful and wicked servants in Matt 24 and the parable of the talents in Matt 25.)

Now I'd like to illustrate how authority works in everyday life:

A shift supervisor who works at a factory has authority over the operations on his shift, which might include personnel management, scheduling, ordering supplies and resolving employee disputes. But his authority is restricted to the hours that he is at work and to the specific factory he works at. He doesn’t have the same authority during another supervisor’s shift or at a different factory. His scope of authority is limited and it is also relational. It was granted to him and can be revoked by the manager of the factory if trust is eroded.

The manager of the factory has similar authority. It is likewise limited to the factory he works at, and it is relational. The CEO of the company is the one who grants his authority and it can be removed at the CEO's discretion. The CEO has similar authority. It may have been granted by the company’s board of directors, who were appointed by the shareholders. His authority gives him the right to make major decisions involving the company’s interests and it can be revoked at their discretion. Everyone in the chain has authority that is given to them by someone else. Any of them can be promoted if they exercise their authority well, or have their authority removed if they exercise it poorly.

Christians have been given a multitude of different types and levels of authority. As God’s personal representatives on earth, our authority encompasses many areas, but unlike in the world where people are given authority over other people, we are not given such authority. Some people will disagree, but the New Testament believer is subject only to the authority of Christ. We do not have other humans in authority over us. While we may have teachers and people who encourage and train us, these individuals do not exercise authority over other believers. Authority that is exercised over individuals is the model that has been used throughout history by governments and military institutions. It was specifically this model of authority that Jesus said would not be allowed among His disciples.

Instead Jesus gave us authority over such things as sickness, disease, and storms, and each of us is given authority to speak on certain subjects. (That will be discussed in my next message.)

Some of us are given authority to influence the communities of music and art. Others are given authority to influence the fields of physics and chemistry, while still others have authority to represent God’s interests in the field of medicine. These are just a few examples of the areas of society God grants us authority to operate in. As we identify the areas of authority that God has granted to us and as we represent His interests in accordance with His desires, our level of authority increases.

The relationship we have with God is the key to it all. We must begin by asking Him what areas we've been given authority in. That requires us to develop the ability to communicate with Him. Next, we must learn how He wants us to exercise our authority in those areas. Again - this requires a deeper relationship. As our relationship grows, we'll be given more details about how He wants us to exercise the authority He gives us with wisdom and righteousness.

Let the Living Water Flow

"...out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
Jn 7:38

When He found someone who was sick or spiritually oppressed, Jesus released the kingdom of God upon them. They were healed, set free of demonic oppression or they were given a new perspective of their value in God's eyes. Notice how Jesus met people's needs: He released the kingdom of God upon them.

Released.

The way a dam releases water when it opens.

There is a river flowing out of the throne of God that carries His presence wherever it goes. This river of life flows into you and I, bringing God's presence, His glory and His kingdom to us. We are the dwelling place of God's presence in the earth. His purpose for giving us the Holy Spirit is to turn us into people who carry and release His presence.

Just as Jesus manifested the character, the power and the glory of God to reveal and accomplish the Father's will here on earth, we're commissioned to do the same today. He is our example. We are gateways to the kingdom of God. When we open our gates His presence flows out of us, bringing joy, peace, healing, deliverance, revelation, and other things that people need.

It's a good idea from time to time to examine how well God's presence is flowing in and out of us. The flow can be gauged by the fruit of the spirit that we produce. It can be restricted by things like bitterness, anger, fear, unbelief, and unforgiveness that act like rocks and sticks which clog up the flow. These attitudes also taint the flow with flavors that don't represent God's character. When they're removed, we receive a greater inflow of His presence and it's easier for it to flow out of us, untainted.

The life of the believer is one of being filled with God's presence and releasing it to others.