I am on a business trip right now. But even in the midst of all that seems to us to be “secular” God comes in to speak to us. He comes with clarity. Could it be that in the context of not striving we may be caught unawares and be able to hear more clearly? A question that some of you could answer for me.
The Lord brought me clearly to Hebrews 12. I believe that ENDURING and DESPISING are keys that bring us into the fullness of our calling.
When we can ENDURE, we can QUALIFY to sit in places of authority.
What did Jesus have to endure? The cross. Anyone that is walking in Him must also endure a particular “cross”. This qualifies us. We must endure. For this reason we see that the Bible is not a manual of principles but a testimony of those who saw suffering in this life not as an enemy but as an ENDURING. When I talk about suffering I am speaking about a specific warfare that takes place because of our walk in Christ. I am not talking about suffering in general terms. I am talking about the things that happen to us as a consequence for walking with Christ. This is a qualifying test in this life. It brings us not destruction but brings us into a place in God where we are invited and qualified to sit at God’s right Hand, of fellowship and authority. I never see power and authority apart from our intimacy to God. If we do we are nothing more than power hungry and religious.
As Christ ENDURED He despised. What does this mean?
I will attempt to decipher, not establishing doctrine or dogma. I invite discussion. But I believe this despising the shame, is despising the temptation to find a way out of enduring. I believe our walk in the Spirit must lead us to the crucifixion of our flesh, our mind, because we search for comfort, and for rationalizing with our mind. Anyone who avoids the dying of our self on a cross appointed to us becomes an ENEMY of that same cross. Anyone who is an ENEMY of those processes necessary to bring us into the intimacy and dimension of the Spirit, becomes merely religious by mouth only, and without authority.
So I address those who believe have a call to serve in ministry, who suffer rejection, non recognition, persecution, exclusion. Recognize the processes. I see in Ephesians 4 Jesus GOING DOWN first before He went UP. How much more God will lead us down where our lives become a contradiction, so that the life of God may be breaking forth.
The reason why the local church can be a breeding ground of so much misunderstanding, jealousy, persecution is because the Church has not understood the process that God brings His saints into a ministry that is both individual and corporate. If it would understand then many up and coming prophets and apostles would come to the full potential. Why is it they move around so much? Because they cannot flow in the midst of so much law and religiosity.
To seemingly “climb up” into ministry we must descend. We must delight in servanthood. So we must ENDURE our personal cross and DESPISE the temptation to be ashamed of the cost of our call.

If we pass this test we shall come into the fellowship of the Father and be given authority.

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