That They May Be One

It is an amazing thing to me how Scriptures that have been in the Word of God forever, somehow, sometimes, take on more relevance and authority in our lives than at others. Depending upon the season in God we are in will determine what Holy Spirit will emphasize and stress to us individually for that season. What He stresses to me may be different than what He stresses to you. I believe that what He stresses will be in accordance with what our assignment is in that season.

Currently, I am leaving one season and stepping into another. My old season was overseeing a local church. My new season is to work with Leaders across the Body of Christ and bring Regional Alignment. There is one Scripture that Holy Spirit has had his finger on in my heart as I fully enter this new season.

“…That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:21 NKJV

Here Jesus was praying what we call His High Priestly prayer; praying for us who would believe down the road because of what the Apostles of the Lamb did. This of course was right before going to the cross for us. And what was on His mind was our unity! Selah! Let that sink in!

So often we in the church blame the devil for things, but this not one that we can blame him for. We have done everything that we could to keep this prayer from coming to pass ourselves! We have divided over race, over stream in the body, over doctrinal camp, over gender, over denomination, over age…anything and everything we could divide over we have.

I have found in my almost 39 years of ministry that we only associate with those in our clique, circle, or group; and never venture beyond it. How is that fulfilling what Jesus prayed for? Isn’t it time we started fulfilling what He prayed for? We have Apostolic Streams, Prophetic Streams, Word of Faith Streams, Classic Pentecostal Streams, Deliverance Streams, Kingdom Now Streams, Dispensational Streams, and so forth…you get the idea. With all these different streams…folks won’t venture outside of their own stream. Leaders from the different streams will not even talk to each other.

We can forget about Cross-Pollination occurring if we can’t even get Leaders to come together. This must change! It is time that we learn to put these things aside. If the Leaders can’t come together, there is no way the people will ever come together. It is time for New Relationships! It is time for New Alliances! It is time to get out of our cliques! It is time Leaders Come Together and fulfill Jesus’ Prayer…That They May Be One!

MOTHERS & FATHERS OR BROTHERS & SISTERS

Trends in the Kingdom come…and trends in the Kingdom go. There is one fad today, and another fad tomorrow. The latest trend gathering momentum in the Body of Christ is Spiritual Mothers and Spiritual Fathers. Don’t get me wrong at all, I fully believe in, support, endorse and work towards the furtherance of this concept…I am a product of it. It is the basis for a Group on Facebook called Apostolic Teaching Fathers Group that I am one of the administrators of.

Lord knows we have had a tremendous shortage of “True” Mothers and Fathers in the Faith. Surely the words of the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth have rung true for many in our day as they have dealt with and been in bondage to an orphan heart. This verse has become a rallying cry of sorts: “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers…”

That being said, I must ask the question: are we really looking for a Mother or Father in the Kingdom? Many say that they are, but words and actions are two different things. A Spiritual Mother or Father is very much like a Natural Mother or Father, in the sense that most times they have been where you are and where you are going; and they know what to do, as well as what not to do. Because they love you, they pass on to the Son or Daughter the wisdom of their experience, in the hope that said Son or Daughter will heed their counsel and advice.

We do the same with our children in the natural too because we love them and want to spare them the headache and heartache we have gone through. So it is in the Kingdom with “True” Mothers and Fathers. Many say they want a Mother or Father, but what they really want is a brother or sister who will rubber stamp their every decision, regardless of whether it is a good decision or not. Too many don’t listen just like Natural Children don’t listen, and then end up in hurt and harm because of it. A Mother or Father, whether Natural or Spiritual will correct; which is a sign of their love, not of cramping the Son or Daughter’s style. So…Do you want a Mother/Father or do you want a Brother/Sister?