Hi all,
How does a person recover from emotional disorder and illness? How do we un-believe a lie?
Elijah or Messiah?
By the time of Matthew 16:13 people were saying that Jesus was a reincarnated Elijah (or other prophet).
This was a lie, but it is clear people were believing and telling others that Jesus was Elijah, for Lord asked the disciples what people were saying, so it is clear they were hearing these lies about Jesus. Yet when asked what they believed, Peter responded; "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God".
Jesus said Peter knew who He was by revelation from the Father, and upon that rock of revelation He would build His church. All believers have similarly received revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Christ, and we made a choice to un-believe what we had believed about Him - a good man, a prophet, historical figure, a myth - to believe the revelation stirring in our hearts: You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.
What revelation does
When Peter received the revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Christ, it shined heavenly light on the lies of others saying who Jesus was, causing Peter to be faced with a decision - believe the lies others believed about Jesus, or respond to the revelation and believe what the Father presented as Truth.
Peter had to be willing to settle the issue in his heart once and for all. Therefore revelation from the Father is the foundation that must be laid down so a person can see a lie for what it is. At the point of revelation a person has a choice. But they must be willing to settle the issue and end all mental gymnastics and fighting against the revelation. They must be willing to stop fighting against the Truth brought forth by revelation.
Hebrews 6:4 says, we have to be 'illuminated' before 'tasting the heavenly gift' of Jesus. Jesus said everyone who first hears and learns of the Father then comes to Him. He said when a person sees the Son, then they believe on Him. That 'seeing' the Son is revelation from the Father. (Hebrews 6:4, John 6:40, 45)
For a believer revelation from the Father is a way of life - Paul prayed for it in Ephesians 1:15-18 and 3:14-20 and Colossians 1:9, among others. Along the way we are faced with receiving revelation about Biblical relationships, the Holy Spirit and tongues, is healing for today, and so much more kingdom revelation.
The hard part
Other revelations come, built upon the foundational revelation, revelations about issues in life, causing us to see our own history in light of the Father's perspective, salvation, and love. Over a life time He provides revelation to us here and there, as we think on decisions we made in the past - we see them as foolish, maybe have to forgive ourselves, and we are shown good and wise ones too.
We often don't realize it is the Father showing us this review of past decisions - but we know it is Him because the memories remain but the pain is gone and we have a third party perspective - and He then goes deeper, to what we think of ourselves and about who we are and our purpose on this planet.
Decisions, decisions
The decision to believe leave the lie to embrace the revelation can be the most difficult thing a person has ever made. Let us use the example of a sexually abused girl who grows up believing the lie it was her fault, that she somehow was too attractive or flirty to her uncle/dad/neighbor, so she at shared the blame for her abuse.
For her to see in the light of the Father's revelation that a 10 year old girl is not responsible for the actions of predatory men, means leaving a belief system that is comfortable and known. She has experienced an ocean of heart ache because believing the lie caused her to make horrible choices in life, but at least it was known, with predictable patterns of success and failure, a cycle of life that had a perverted sense of security.
Pain?
To let go of blaming herself would be a huge unknown - she has never thought like that and she has become comfortable blaming herself not only for that molestation, but throughout life she believed related lies where she blamed herself for any outcome that didn't meet expectations.
For instance - she believes it was her fault a friend died in a car accident when they were teens, in a perverted logic looking for a way for the lie to be true - IF she had invited her friend over to spend the night (though she wasn't thinking of it at the time) then maybe her friend wouldn't have gotten into the car to go drinking that night. And IF she had called her friend at 10pm to see if she wanted to watch the late movie THEN the accident wouldn't have happened - so she found a way to make it her fault her friend died.
To un-believe that lie is to venture into unknown territory. If a person has spent their whole life blaming themselves for every poor outcome or accident in their life and those around them, it looks like hard work and a lot of pain to reject the lie, though that in itself is a lie. The Father's assurances of love, forgiveness, and grace seem too good to be true, so letting go and embracing all that goodness stirs fear of the unknown.
Receiving revelation from the Father is the foundation
Revelation from the Father comes from thinking on Him, His Word, His ways, what He has done in our lives in the past. Getting to know the Father is key.
I encourage people to go through Paul's letters and where you see 'God' substitute 'Father' because that is who Paul is writing about. Ephesians chapters 1-3 in particular are a good place to start. Then spend time thinking on those truths - in 1:3 it says for instance the Father has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. In 2:6 it says the Father has seated us in the heavenlies next to Him in Christ.
What does that mean? What privilege have we been given that spiritually we are the Father's children, children of light who used to be children of darkness? Think on these things and soon you find your thoughts drifting back to childhood, back to where you parents told you that you would never amount to anything. That you were stupid and dumb and could do nothing right. Yet the Father loves you, believes in you, likes you.
And suddenly you realize all they said was a lie, or if true then, not now, for you are spiritually blessed with every spiritual blessing, and have switched families and blood lines, you are now a child of Royalty and as soon as you say 'Father', you are at His throne with a 24/7 open heaven because He has given you the proof of His Spirit living inside you. You realize you aren't dumb and stupid after all, you have the mind of Christ.
And one day the Father directs your memories to a school chalkboard where you and another student are racing to complete a math problem before the whole class, and you hated the pressure and felt so stupid because kids started laughing at your mistakes because they could see your mistakes as you wrote them...
And suddenly you realize you aren't stupid, you just don't do well under pressure, and that is OK...and slowly like untangling a big ball of string, one tangle at a time, the Father over days, weeks, month or years, walks you down memory lane, giving revelation to you from His point of view, showing the lies for what they are, one lie after another, and you realize one day the momentum has changed inside you, joy arising as you experience freedom, a smile creases your face more easily, and my doesn't the sun look bright today...and you are walking in wholeness.
Peter had to embrace the unknown, to believe and say out loud something that had never been said before: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Will you embrace the revelation like he did, though it feels strange, is new territory and unfamiliar to you?
Next week, a Bible example of a man who walked it out, and one who didn't...until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
How does a person recover from emotional disorder and illness? How do we un-believe a lie?
Elijah or Messiah?
By the time of Matthew 16:13 people were saying that Jesus was a reincarnated Elijah (or other prophet).
This was a lie, but it is clear people were believing and telling others that Jesus was Elijah, for Lord asked the disciples what people were saying, so it is clear they were hearing these lies about Jesus. Yet when asked what they believed, Peter responded; "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God".
Jesus said Peter knew who He was by revelation from the Father, and upon that rock of revelation He would build His church. All believers have similarly received revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Christ, and we made a choice to un-believe what we had believed about Him - a good man, a prophet, historical figure, a myth - to believe the revelation stirring in our hearts: You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.
What revelation does
When Peter received the revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Christ, it shined heavenly light on the lies of others saying who Jesus was, causing Peter to be faced with a decision - believe the lies others believed about Jesus, or respond to the revelation and believe what the Father presented as Truth.
Peter had to be willing to settle the issue in his heart once and for all. Therefore revelation from the Father is the foundation that must be laid down so a person can see a lie for what it is. At the point of revelation a person has a choice. But they must be willing to settle the issue and end all mental gymnastics and fighting against the revelation. They must be willing to stop fighting against the Truth brought forth by revelation.
Hebrews 6:4 says, we have to be 'illuminated' before 'tasting the heavenly gift' of Jesus. Jesus said everyone who first hears and learns of the Father then comes to Him. He said when a person sees the Son, then they believe on Him. That 'seeing' the Son is revelation from the Father. (Hebrews 6:4, John 6:40, 45)
For a believer revelation from the Father is a way of life - Paul prayed for it in Ephesians 1:15-18 and 3:14-20 and Colossians 1:9, among others. Along the way we are faced with receiving revelation about Biblical relationships, the Holy Spirit and tongues, is healing for today, and so much more kingdom revelation.
The hard part
Other revelations come, built upon the foundational revelation, revelations about issues in life, causing us to see our own history in light of the Father's perspective, salvation, and love. Over a life time He provides revelation to us here and there, as we think on decisions we made in the past - we see them as foolish, maybe have to forgive ourselves, and we are shown good and wise ones too.
We often don't realize it is the Father showing us this review of past decisions - but we know it is Him because the memories remain but the pain is gone and we have a third party perspective - and He then goes deeper, to what we think of ourselves and about who we are and our purpose on this planet.
Decisions, decisions
The decision to believe leave the lie to embrace the revelation can be the most difficult thing a person has ever made. Let us use the example of a sexually abused girl who grows up believing the lie it was her fault, that she somehow was too attractive or flirty to her uncle/dad/neighbor, so she at shared the blame for her abuse.
For her to see in the light of the Father's revelation that a 10 year old girl is not responsible for the actions of predatory men, means leaving a belief system that is comfortable and known. She has experienced an ocean of heart ache because believing the lie caused her to make horrible choices in life, but at least it was known, with predictable patterns of success and failure, a cycle of life that had a perverted sense of security.
Pain?
To let go of blaming herself would be a huge unknown - she has never thought like that and she has become comfortable blaming herself not only for that molestation, but throughout life she believed related lies where she blamed herself for any outcome that didn't meet expectations.
For instance - she believes it was her fault a friend died in a car accident when they were teens, in a perverted logic looking for a way for the lie to be true - IF she had invited her friend over to spend the night (though she wasn't thinking of it at the time) then maybe her friend wouldn't have gotten into the car to go drinking that night. And IF she had called her friend at 10pm to see if she wanted to watch the late movie THEN the accident wouldn't have happened - so she found a way to make it her fault her friend died.
To un-believe that lie is to venture into unknown territory. If a person has spent their whole life blaming themselves for every poor outcome or accident in their life and those around them, it looks like hard work and a lot of pain to reject the lie, though that in itself is a lie. The Father's assurances of love, forgiveness, and grace seem too good to be true, so letting go and embracing all that goodness stirs fear of the unknown.
Receiving revelation from the Father is the foundation
Revelation from the Father comes from thinking on Him, His Word, His ways, what He has done in our lives in the past. Getting to know the Father is key.
I encourage people to go through Paul's letters and where you see 'God' substitute 'Father' because that is who Paul is writing about. Ephesians chapters 1-3 in particular are a good place to start. Then spend time thinking on those truths - in 1:3 it says for instance the Father has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. In 2:6 it says the Father has seated us in the heavenlies next to Him in Christ.
What does that mean? What privilege have we been given that spiritually we are the Father's children, children of light who used to be children of darkness? Think on these things and soon you find your thoughts drifting back to childhood, back to where you parents told you that you would never amount to anything. That you were stupid and dumb and could do nothing right. Yet the Father loves you, believes in you, likes you.
And suddenly you realize all they said was a lie, or if true then, not now, for you are spiritually blessed with every spiritual blessing, and have switched families and blood lines, you are now a child of Royalty and as soon as you say 'Father', you are at His throne with a 24/7 open heaven because He has given you the proof of His Spirit living inside you. You realize you aren't dumb and stupid after all, you have the mind of Christ.
And one day the Father directs your memories to a school chalkboard where you and another student are racing to complete a math problem before the whole class, and you hated the pressure and felt so stupid because kids started laughing at your mistakes because they could see your mistakes as you wrote them...
And suddenly you realize you aren't stupid, you just don't do well under pressure, and that is OK...and slowly like untangling a big ball of string, one tangle at a time, the Father over days, weeks, month or years, walks you down memory lane, giving revelation to you from His point of view, showing the lies for what they are, one lie after another, and you realize one day the momentum has changed inside you, joy arising as you experience freedom, a smile creases your face more easily, and my doesn't the sun look bright today...and you are walking in wholeness.
Peter had to embrace the unknown, to believe and say out loud something that had never been said before: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Will you embrace the revelation like he did, though it feels strange, is new territory and unfamiliar to you?
Next week, a Bible example of a man who walked it out, and one who didn't...until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
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