Growing up I would often go visit my dad on the weekends. I noticed even at a young age how quickly the way I viewed life was affected by the environment that I found myself in at that moment. Only a short few days with my dad caused me see different until of course I was back with my mom. The transition was always personally noticed although never mentioned. Today, many of us live in environments that are just our “normal”. You pray a certain way, go to church a certain way, interact with others a certain way, etc. Your normal is what you do daily without much effort.
So a few Sundays ago while in prayer I heard the Lord whisper, “It’s NOT going to be business as usual!” When you hear someone say business as usual it means everything will continue the normal way. So with this one statement immediately my mind was filled with excitement and wonder as to what could this possibly mean. What areas of “normal” life was the Lord ready to expand?
In reading the Word I began to notice the times God had to confront the “normal” in church in order to expand the church’s territory. Some
obstacles were external and needed miraculous intervention, however the majority of the time the obstacles that existed were internal, found in belief systems.
So greater freedom or enlarged territory externally is usually territory that is first explored and occupied internally. In other words, it’s necessary that our minds are renewed before we will see lasting fruit externally. Romans 12:3 says, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.”
So when God is doing a new thing it often clashes with a way of thinking that is already present within us, causing tension.
This is why repentance is necessary in navigating new territory. However, if we have a misunderstanding of repentance we may find ourselves pulling away from it, rather than embracing it. I heard Graham Cooke say this one time, “New testament repentance is about repenting forward.” The focus of repentance is to change OUR WAY of thinking until the presence of His kingdom fills our lives. In other words, repentance isn’t complete until It sees His Kingdom.
PRAYER/QUESTIONS:
- Read Acts 10:9-22 of Peter’s open vision. Before this vision, Peter has a “normal” belief system that was not in agreement with Gods Kingdom Agenda. How did Peter respond? What can we learn from Peter?
- Read Acts 9:19 of Saul’s encounter. Before this encounter, Saul had a “normal” belief system that was opposing Gods Kingdom agenda. What can we learn from His encounter?
- What is God showing you about this year and will a change of thinking be required? Explain
