By Thomas Denegre
The kings who ruined Israel after King David (1 Kings
12-18) not only failed because of their disobedience, but more importantly they
failed to understand their identity in God; also called an orphan spirit. Sadly, this pattern repeats itself with many
of us in the church today.
God is calling many of us to move from being orphans,
those who must prove their self-worth and feeling of being unloved and rejected
through works, to being true sons of God
Jesus once said,"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." (John 14:18)
As St. Paul wrote, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are
sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear
again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out,
“Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs
with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with
Him." (Romans 8:14-17)
God is calling many of us to move from being orphans
to being true sons of God. Just as David entered his secret place of the
Most-High (Psalm 91:1) to know God intimately, God too brought me into his
secret place to know Him deeply and affectionately. So, can you. It’s available to all believers
filled with the Holy Spirit. God has
given us the ability to envision things not seen in the natural. While in
prayer the Holy Spirit guides us into a restful (secret) place with Jesus, and
looking eye-to-eye with Him, he tells you;
“(Insert your own name) you are a delight to my
eyes. Just as a I saw Mathew in pain
from guilt and shame in his den of tax thievery, out of my compassion and mercy
I called him to me. His heart received and accepted my love. Dropping
everything he followed me. That is why I left the ninety-nine to save the
one. I want you to do the same; follow
me.
I love you 100% all the time. Your performance means nothing to me. It is you that I am in love with. I want to
spend time with you. I want you to know you are not an orphan, but my son, with
all the rights and privileges to inherit everything I have. You now have everything I have, so stop trying
to get something you already have. You
are called to be my son and know you have everything you need to do my
will.
Know that my perfect love casts out at all fear.
Therefore, live in my love and my blessings. Stop comparing yourself to other
people, because I only made one of you. Isn’t that marvelous! You are
brilliant, beautiful, loving, kind, gentle, compassionate and merciful. You are successfully growing into the person
I destined you to become as written in Psalm 139:16. My love will guide you
into all things. I am so delighted in you!”
As St. Paul wrote, “In love He predestined us to adoption
as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His
will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us
in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5)
In this way, God lets his children know they are loved, wanted, and accepted as they are. By having an intimate relationship with Jesus, we become his adopted children with full inheritance (Romans 8:14-17). As a son of God our priorities change whereby, we seek first; (1) To be – identified and accepted as a son of God. Knowing you are a spiritual being, not a spiritual doing, (2) You have the resources from God to carry out the mission. So, stop trying to get stuff you already have, and (3) To do his works from authentic love by which you will naturally do His will just as a dog wags its tail.
In this way, God lets his children know they are loved, wanted, and accepted as they are. By having an intimate relationship with Jesus, we become his adopted children with full inheritance (Romans 8:14-17). As a son of God our priorities change whereby, we seek first; (1) To be – identified and accepted as a son of God. Knowing you are a spiritual being, not a spiritual doing, (2) You have the resources from God to carry out the mission. So, stop trying to get stuff you already have, and (3) To do his works from authentic love by which you will naturally do His will just as a dog wags its tail.
Here are some guidelines to transform you from an orphan
into a powerful son or daughter of God.
- Find a quiet (secret) place that is comfortable but not sleepy. “Be still and know he is God.”
- Enter the secret place with thanksgiving and praise towards God.
- As you rest with the Holy Spirit, envision your secret place and see yourself with Jesus.
- Allow the Holy Spirit to bring in bible stories and scripture. Let His Word saturate your heart.
- Learn to be in alignment with God’s loving will
- See his face, hear his voice, feel his love, experience his presence, live in his pleasure.
- Learn to think what God thinks
- Feel what God feels
- Hear what God says
- Then repeat back to yourself what God thinks, feels, says, and sees.
- By having these seeds planted in your heart, you’ll be rooted in His love. By being in life union with Jesus, you’ll find that His love will give you the compassion and vision to see and act as God does.
- Like every good habit to develop, this should be a loving and joyful practice done regularly.
By resting within the intimacy of God, what you behold,
you become. What you become you release.
You received love, therefore release love. By being God’s love (John 15), His
wisdom and revelation will give you the knowledge to influence the world around
you.
