Increase in power

[Gary Amirault]

Thoughts?:

I love 2 Cor 10:13-18 re: the measure of rule...when your faith is increased -- that WE SHALL BE ENLARGED BY YOU -- !

I see this, not as a lack of any kind, but INCREASE.  It would seem that true authority "strengthens to lead," and usurped authority "weakens to control."

In the book, "The Ancient Doors," Dr Michael Maiden of Scottsdale shares end time visions that the Lord gave him:

If we submit to His government He will send His glory.  Multitudes of believers are lifting their voices to God in prayer and asking for gifts and graces God has promised to give.  There are the dual dynamics of desperation and frustration in their cry -- Why not us?  Why not here?
Why not now?
Not all believers are hungering for God's power to flow.  For so long they have lived a lifeless, powerless form of Christianity that they don't even realize how much is truly missing today. 

We have replaced the gold shields of Solomon for cheap bronze imitations.  (1 Kings 14:25-28)

This is what religion does to God's children.  We pretend we've not lost anything (God's power, gifts, revival, miracles, signs, wonders).
Instead of the genuine golden graces of heaven, we have filled our churches with replacement shields of man's traditions and ideas.  We have a form of godliness but not much power.

The Lord used the analogy of wild horses, untested, unbroken and unbridled, to this generation.  The reason for the delay of the demonstration of God's power in the earth was the condition of the heart of His people -- rebellious and self-willed.  Our greatest foe is our unrenewed mind and soul.  The church, not the devil, is stopping the flow of God's power in the church.

We must pray like Christ prayed -- "Not my will but Your will be done."
When he prayed his prayer 3 times in the Garden of Gethsemane (oil
press) His will was being crushed in order that the sweet oil of heaven's redemption could flow to mankind.  In this same fashion, it is the surrendered will of His servants that receive and release the fresh oil of anointing that blesses God's people.

When Jesus commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass -- He took the loaves and fishes and BLESSED, BROKE and GAVE them to the disciples.
Before the bread could be multiplied and distributed, it had to be first broken by the hand of the Master.  It was broken in order to be multiplied, to feed the multitudes.  Before the Lord can really use the Church, we must remain in His hands until our strong self-will is broken.  This is our greatest battle in life as believers: to reach and maintain this place of brokenness in every area of our lives.  Then we are vessels of honor FROM WHICH the Master will pour His grace and glory.

The reason for the extended delay of the demonstration of God's great power to this generation is this:  God has been breaking and blessing a group of believers that He is about to manifest in glory and power.

In the life of Gideon, whom God used to deliver an entire generation from oppression and poverty, we see the power of brokenness displayed:
(Judges 7:17-20)
"Gideon said to them. "Look at me and do likewise...they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers..."

Many leaders are quite proficient at "trumpet blowing" -- communicating the truth of God's word and kingdom.  But Gideon's victory required that there be a simultaneous action to the blowing and the breaking.  When leaders have both the TRUMPET OF TRUTH and the SPIRIT OF BROKENNESS, they will see miraculous results in their ministries.

The torch was hidden inside of the unbroken pitchers -- invisible and ineffective until the pitchers containing them were broken.  After the pitchers were broken, the light of the torches could finally escape the confinement, limitation and control of the pitchers and do what they were designed to do -- SHINE!
Leaders must not only CALL people to brokenness and surrender in the service of the Master, they must also LEAD by personal example of their own brokenness and obedience.  Gideon said, "Look at me and do what I do."  Because he broke his vessel, the men who followed him broke THEIR vessels.
(end quotes from book)

Paul, likewise admonishes:  "Follow me as I follow Christ..."

Jesus said, "Follow me . . . abide in me."

Perhaps the church has not clearly seen the power (authority) in SUBMISSION to CHRIST-LIKENESS, because the emphasis is on keeping the imitation sheilds shining.  The competition ("law") throughout the land is to have the shiniest of all.  This rule of measure is NOT increasing faith or Christ, but increasing self -- hardly the measure that abounds toward righteousness, peace and joy -- the fruit of the King's ever-increasing authority.

True spiritual authority comes through brokenness.  True spiritual author-ity belongs to the Author. When Jesus surrendered His will to the Father, He became One (Alpha-Omega) with the Father's greatest purpose for all of creation.  He conquered sin and death through the cross (the ultimate brokenness) and received ALL POWER and ALL AUTHORITY over heaven and earth!
He, who is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, is the Church's lead-er ("forerunner").

Authority is a person -- CHRIST.  He, who shares His glory with His Body, manifests His love and grace through broken vessels that "look at Him and do likewise."  His prayer in 1 John 17 is unshakeable --

"...I pray for THESE and for THEM which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may BE ONE, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be ONE IN US...and I HAVE DECLARED unto them
your name, and WILL DECLARE it:   

that THE LOVE wherewith you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

"The Ancient Doors" quotes cont'd:
There is a school of the Holy Spirit into which God leads all His servants.  He wants us to discern and follow His voice.  Those who walk in the fellowship of His voice then become beacons of the glory of God's blessings to the rest of the world.  Ultimately, our kingdom value and usefulness is directly proportionate to our ability to hear and obey the voice of God.  Hebrews 3:7 tell us, "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE..."

God has a TODAY word for His children.  Some Christians hear one or two notes coming from the trumpet of God, still others hear an entire symphony.  In hearing God's voice (the living revelation of His WORD and WILL to our hearts), God GIVES US ACCESS to enter into the reality of that word in our lives.  The revelation of hearing is God's permission to have!

The Hebrew word, teruah, is used to describe "a great shout."  It speaks of the human participation in a work of God.  This great shout would be the manifestation of a great grace and work of God in which men were allowed to participate.  It is the exclamatiion of the human spirit in agreement to GOd's will and work.  This GREAT SHOUT has 4 major OT
revelations:
1.  When God's PRESENCE is restored to God's people (Ark - II Sam 6:15) 2.  When Godly FOUNDATIONS are established ( Temple - Ezra 3:10-11) 3.  When the spirit of bondage/debt is broken (Jubilee - Lev 25:9-10, acceptable year of the Lord) 4.  The shout of the END TIME HARVEST (Jericho - Josh 6:20)

God has chosen this end-time generation to experience the full glory and liberty that CHrist purchase on Calvary.  Every liberty He won is to be REVEALED and RECEIVED in this glorious Year of Jubilee.
Heaven's Jubilee (teruah) is sounding to us!  If we will hear it, we can have the liberty of Christ in our lives.

As the church takes her 'authority' in the earth, the walls that are keeping the world from salvation are going to come down! It is the authority of God Himself claiming, THROUGH THE INSTRUMENT OF HIS BODY, THE CHURCH, His prized inheritance -- the salvation of the lost.  The walls that men and Satan have built up to keep God's truth and grace out are going to come down.  Not by themselves, but because of the GREAT SHOUT of the last day church that takes dominion over their works.

In all 4 of these examples of a "great shout," there is the combination of a TRUMPET and a SHOUT.  The trumpet (God's prophetic voice speaking to the people) is sounding -- telling us of the restoration of His presence, the rebuilding of our personal and corporate foundations, the proclamation of the Year of Jubilee (liberty for all) and the impartation of our authority to shout walls down and take cities for the Kingdom. 

If you hear the trumpet -- it will awaken a shout of destiny in you.
The hearing ear produces the awakened heart.  There is a SOUND in the earth unlike anything ever heard by mankind before.  It is the GREAT SHOUT of the living church of God in the earth.

Zech 4:6-7 --
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
with SHOUTS of "GRACE, GRACE TO IT!"

O, what a shout!  Not the exaltation of man or religion.  Not the working of human power or potential  Not the celebration of human achievement or authority.  Only "grace."  Nothing more, nothing less.
The victories that we will see are victories grace has already obtained.
The maturity of the church is accomplished by grace.  The glorious victories that will be experienced by the last day church are the wondrous blessings of God's free gift -- grace.  The mountains before us are no greater than the grace that is within us.  Maybe like Caleb, there's a mountain with your name on it, a mountain God wants to conquer through your faith in His grace.

(The author concludes):
We are standing at the crossroads of prophetic destiny both as a nation and also the body of Christ.  Now is the time for the church to arise and shine!  Now is the time to awake and cast off the works of darkness.
Now is the time to walk in the love of God toward other believers.  Now is the time for churches to come into true unity as the body of Christ.
Now is the time to show God's love to a lost world.  Now is the time to become totally surrendered and obedient to the Lord in every area of our lives.  (end quotes from book)

Responding again to your reference to the scripture (2 Cor 10:13-18) ...

"...having hope, when your faith is INCREASED, that we shall be ENLARGED by you according to our rule ABUNDANTLY...but he that glories, let him GLORY in the Lord..."

Your faith...our rule...the Lord's glory -- a corporate inter-twining that reveals the dynamics of mutual increase with the emphasis on glorifying God.

Verse 8 of the same chapter, Paul states that AUTHORITY was given them for edification, not destruction.  The fruits of edification (or not) should be clearly seen, and thus, what manner of authority.

We know a thing by the fruit of it.  True authority is the permission granted by the author and complies with His nature and measure.  The measure is "the stature of the fullness of Christ...which is the head, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes INCREASE of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."  (Eph 4:13-16)

Said another way -- it's effectual, it's edifying; no measure is excluded --

LOVE is the fulfilling of authority (the "law").

In conclusion --
Spiritual Authority is the New Creation Man administrating the Kingdom by the Morning Star Anointing.  (Hadn't heard the term "morning star anointing" before, but as I was journaling after the conference, that's what came to me).

Love and blessings,
Lynda

Lynda Mitchell

[Kratos]

I definately relate with the need for brokeness in the hearts of those who serve in the name of Christ. Sometimes, we are fortunate and can "stay broken' through the Word which pierces our hearts and through prayer and worship. Unfortunately though, God often has to resort to using circumstances as we experience different levels of tribulation to keep us in a state of brokeness. I look forward to the day when God will no longer have to "kick the slats" out from under me that are giving me other supports other than the Lord.

John