Sitting with a friend and listening to a prophetic word for the coming year, my heart kept taking on more and more space, more and more air.
Heart Coffee in NW Bend OR
That probably sounds strange. It's an attempt at saying, my heart was expanding and growing as she spoke. Filling with the atmosphere of Holy Spirit, my heart broadened, flowering with wonder. I was hearing confirming grace that we had entered into a season of HIS fullness.
A few days later I was meeting with our worship leaders. We needed a re-group and some new fire. After asking some probing questions I realized their hearts needed encouragement. Before they could move out into a message of fullness, they needed to bring their hearts into undivided devotion. Having a sense for this word of Fullness and the prompting of the Spirit to mend hearts, I focused our breakfast on consolation, encouragement, and heart talk.
I felt this new season. The open country of his boundless kingdom. I felt the correlation to the places the Lord was leading me. The wind of the Spirit filled my spirit. I was receiving a confirmation of what I perceived back in August 2016. After 30 Days of 24/7 prayer in our region and 24 hours of continuous prayer and worship, the atmosphere changed. We went from fighting for righteousness to the wide open country of his fullness. An invitation seemed to run out before us. An invitation to enter into this fullness of Christ. Fullness of Christ, the vast expanse of blessing and favor the Lord won for us. I felt it. I could see it in the Spirit. Now my friend was confirming it to me and my spirit was soaring.
Even while my spirit soared,
I sensed through the Spirit that this word, though releasing freedom in me, would reveal the passive, wounded and apathetic heart.
The first point of ministry, as we step into the fullness of Christ, will be ministry to the heart.
To enter into abundant freedom we need an undivided, undaunted and unhindered heart. Any other condition of the heart is overwhelmed by the expanse and boundless glory of his fullness. This is the heart Jesus carried and carries as High Priest. Forged in perfected and perfect worship, this heart is our in him.In an environment of fullness in Jesus, some hearts will not be able to move forward. Into such a space or atmosphere, the wounded heart cannot expand without healing and renewal.
The reason? The invitation to fullness requires a heart that is fully devoted and undivided. It exalts in the joy of salvation and the invitation of God to greater and greater intimacy. This heart rejoices in the certainty of the uncertainty found in the fullness of Christ. The rootedness of this rejoicing heart is in the character of the Lord and the boundless glory and grace of his boundless Kingdom.
Healing, mending and fresh air in the Holy Spirit are required of the heart that feels limited in the boundless freedom of the fullness of Christ.
The atmosphere of the fullness of Christ overwhelms the divided heart. It reveals the daunted and wounded heart. It is simply the reality of Christ's victory measured against a heart that is not fully surrendered or healed. A heart ready for the time and season.
Things like apathy, passivity, and protecting the heart, things caused by cruising along and following the currents of life, never make the heart whole. Rather they reveal it's true condition. These postures do not provoke or fuel first love devotion for Jesus. Fullness in Christ requires a whole hearted devotion and freedom. Rather than ascending into the expanse, this heart needs consoling and encouragement. It needs hope restored. And for some, the work of sorting out overwhelming ministry assignments and battle weary passivity have gone untended.
All these conditions are heart statements, messages from the heart. Messages ringing out from a heart that needs healing and encouragement. A heart ready to taste deep abiding love again.
This should never surprise us. At the urging of Paul we are admonished, "don't lose heart". For him this and was a real possibility. True for him and for us is the possibility of losing heart in the midst of our greatest invitations to victory in Jesus. Jesus encouraged us as well when he said, that we should continue in prayer and not lose heart (Luke 18:1f; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Well aware of the ease of which we lose sight of prayer in the midst of patient endurance.
Such a heart, one having lost it's fire, is a heart having lost it's love. Such a heart can be invigorated and renewed in the beauty and power of the heart of Jesus before the Father. Yet, it must be recognized, identified, healed and surrendered. Always before us is the choice of growing cold. These are calculations in the mindset of the flesh rather than the glory mindset of the mind of Christ. Again, visitation always reveals our true and present standing before the Lord.
A heart perfected in obedience through suffering.
Hebrews opens up to us the immense faith filled struggle Jesus faced in defeating death (Hebrews 5:7-9). With loud cries and tears he walked in the way of the Father's will. Believing and trusting him for the promised outcomes. Defeating death was an immense challenge and mission. In the process of walking out the Father's will and doing what the Father was doing, Jesus learned obedience through suffering. The Father's will lead him into the struggle. And so he became the living sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. With reverent devotion Jesus walked forward praying and crying out for the Father to sustain him and make the way of promise.When Jesus admonishes us to continue in prayer and not lose heart, he spoke from a place of experience. He was living out the challenge of not losing heart in the midst of suffering. His own prayers were heard because of his reverence and devotion. His heart was not confused, divided or offended at the Father's leading. Jesus walked in the revelation of the Goodness of the Father and so informed his heart through the suffering. His prayers sustained him both in the presence and in contending for the promises and mission before him.
Continued struggle over long periods of time creates opportunities to lose heart.
We give way to passivity and apathy one very small piece at a time. Ending up passive, lacking faith in bold action and without clear devotion in prayer, we start drifting. The consuming fires of faith and first love fall away without notice. Though tempted in every way as us, Jesus did not lose heart. He never become passive. In the face of the enemy, his connection to the Father's will and his love for the Father informed Jesus and he pressed on in obedience. His gaze fixed on the face of the Father and in carrying out his will, he overcame the challenges of the heart. In the face of suffering and opposition Jesus learned obedience (Hebrews 5:7-9). With loud cries and tears he offered up prayers. We will find ourselves in similar paths along the journey of obedience. We are in the way of the Master, the forerunner Jesus, who carved out a new and living way.
The heart finds it's air and energy in the loud cries and tears of supplication and intercession. In the honest and raw presence of abiding in Jesus.
It was snowing. We looked out the window to see this. The heart appeared on the car while we ate breakfast.
So my sense for mending hearts before the impact of freedom and fullness, was confirmed. I've seen it now on multiple occasions in different ministry settings as the word of fullness is shared.
The stages of freedom are laid out before us. It's time to surrender our hearts to him again. The freedom we need to run into the wide open country of his fullness requires a whole and healed heart. Wholehearted and perfected in love, we will be ready to run freely in the boundless fullness of Christ.
Some definition may help to awaken the heart to watchfulness.
If you've made it this far with the talk of the heart, you recognize it's not a mortal condition. HOPE mixed with faith activating the grace of God can carry us through any and all struggles. So we can take a step further. We can drill down into this heart that is not altogether settled.This heart is not a faithless heart or a discouraged heart. It is a weary heart. It's a heart that is slowing down under the weight of constant and persistent hindrance.
Opposition and lack of seeing the hope you are fighting and praying for daily, wears down the heart. It can move in courage but it is confused about the direction. Lacking clear direction, faith in action has turned to passively. Grace activated in faith is a fading memory. It is not a heart in unbelief. At least not completely. Just a little maybe. It's a heart that needs some relief. It is just side tacked with a bit of confusion. It's a heart wrestling with God and apparently getting no answers.
It's not a rebellious heart. In the course of working hard and running after the Lord in obedience, it has wandered off into passivity. No longer acting in faith on a daily basis.
In truth, this is an easy thing to do. To just fall back into the normal routines of life. Work and family occupy so much of our time. It is easy to ride those currents and not seek first the Kingdom. Due to the normal and accepted levels of spiritual pursuits no one typically perceives the difference. We can melt into the life around us. And no one really takes notice.
No longer pouring our worship into obedience. No longer moving forward in the way Jesus is carving out for us. Typically his way requires real and active faith to gain ground. Passive, yet appearing to many "well and on the way", we no longer live by faith or in faith. This simple shift dislodges us from the "faith to faith" process walking in the Spirit requires. The grace deposited in us by Christ goes voiceless and quiet. We are no longer exercising faith. With the current trends of church life, this is an easy place to land. When many around us live in this heart state, we rarely feel the challenge to breakout.
Letting the weight of glory fill us up, overwhelm us? No. That is a distant memory not a present reality.
Years ago, in the Toronto blessing, I felt the weight of glory. So weighty in fact I was unable to stand. I was face down on the floor. I felt as if I could not get up. The weight of glory weighing down on me so heavy my face seemed to make a permanent impression on the carpet. It didn't. But the weight of glory made an impression on my heart and then on my walk with God. Tangible weight bearing down from the Most High is not quickly forgotten. When I finally was able to get up, hours later, I had a whole new appreciation for the "weight of glory".
I tell this story to point to the weight of first love. The heart of first love for Jesus is a heart heavily weighted under the glory of the Spirit. It is not passive. The steadfast love of God is heavy in the first love heart. It is veil-less perception of the Lord. It is raw and real weight. It's a glory that can be felt. First love can run free in the fullness of Christ. Drinking in every good thing from the Father of lights. First love is captivated in wonder, awe, reverence and the fear of the Lord. First love is listening. First love abides as a lover of the presence of God. First love is never satisfied. It pursues with relentless courage. First love believes and trusts all things. Especially the goodness of God. So it overcomes the obstacles of the heart. It embraces no offense. It easily repents and welcomes the healing of God.
As we mature in the Lord, the realization that we can walk in steadfast first love through the grace of Jesus, becomes a daily reality. This is forgotten in the heart I am pointing toward, the one I'm pointing out.
Such an atmosphere is easily adjusted. Such a posture is easily addressed. But the issues of the heart, the real and tangible things in which the heart is stumbling must be aired, addressed and healed.
Unify the Heart and Mind. Undivided Heart.
This heart off track is not in unison with the mind. And this mind is not informing the heart in faith and clear action. The division is subtle but powerful. When the mind and heart are not united in faith apathy and passivity become welcome guests. It's as if all the space left over, space once occupied with faith in action, is now void and empty. Passivity and apathy move right in and fill these voids without knocking. God's Kingdom is the rule and reign of Jesus, never passive always in motion.This heart appears apathetic but is really just undecided. It has not lost conviction of truth or knowledge of the ways of the Lord. At least as ascribing to teachings and beliefs go. It has simply wandered off the paths of first love and the connection of Jesus. Wandered from the solid practices of devotion, it is easy to forget what we left behind. With the rising of a few "why" questions and a string of days without the usual vibrancy, passivity can slip in without notice.
What does this look like? We say a lot more no's than yes'. We get into the habit of having no habits of love and devotion, prayer or word. We stop seeing. Literally we stop recognizing the Kingdom of God. We stop extending love in faith. We stop sowing hope to those around us. We just rest in the currents. At this point we may pick up some other "desires". Engage in things not directly related to advancing the Kingdom of God or the grace imparted to us. Sadly the church often embraces us at this place. Requiring nothing of us and creating a culture of wants and needs, we can be adrift in heart, faith and hope and find no challenge, healing or inspiration to step out of the boat again.
In the natural there is a disease called Leukemia. It essentially is a lack of oxygen to the cells and body.
Spiritual Leukemia is lack of the oxygen to the first love heart, mind, soul and strength.
When people of high commitment allow to many experiences and disappointments to go unprocessed with the Holy Spirit, the first love heart takes the hit.
It is a heart in the middle. The heart cannot stay in such a place and live. Lukewarm lacks satisfaction from every direction. Jesus could not abide it (Revelation 3:14-22). If we want his heart we will embrace the idea that we cannot abide lukewarm either.
This is a good thing. When people of high commitment allow to many experiences and disappointments to go unprocessed with the Holy Spirit, the first love heart takes the hit. Such "dings" can go unnoticed as they are not major crisis or events requiring our full focus. Typical of ministry service and highly committed people, we spend our focus and energies on others and often overlook "our little wounds" along the way. These bumps, questions and disappointments can go without healing or a clear process of applying grace. Time doesn't heal them. They pile up. Unexpectedly they become a weight that outweighs the first love heart. After a while the devout heart cannot bear up under the weight of the why, the losses in relationships, and the seeming hits on their hope. These same heart challenges faced Timothy. Paul encourages him with these words,
"Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." 2 Tim 1:8
When faithful believers are acting and moving normally walking in the Spirit and carrying out the commands of Christ, the weight of hindrances, failures, relational let downs, opposition, and persecutions can dull the heart. It's like the drip of a faucet that needs repairs but just is not enough of a problem to shut down the progress for a day. With such decisions the heart starts showing signs of wear. The small but penetrating confrontations with the enemy wears away at the faith and trust in the goodness of God and piles up into to many unanswered why's.
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| Nothing goes unnoticed by our LORD |
Good news. The Holy Spirit is remarkable and full of loving kindness. He is able to heal these dings of the heart with skill and restore the heart to the freedom it was made for.
It's a heart that needs Psalm 139. Search and know through the grace and compassion of the Holy Spirit what things have gone unnoticed.
To move into this message of fullness and wisdom building your heart has to be free and abounding in love, worship and grace.
For freedom Christ set you and I free. His ways are righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The heart, dwelling in the fullness of Christ, is rich in these three amazing graces.
You can do it. YOU can keep Pressing ON!
Here is a series of blogs about the heart that may help.
1. The Unhindered Heart - Sharpening the Arrow Point of Grace and Glory - https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-unhindered-heart-sharpening-arrow.html
2. Undivided - Undaunted - Unhindered Heart After God - https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2017/02/undivided-undaunted-unhindered-heart.html
://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2014/03/love-for-god-is-never-ending-open.html
4. Five Thorns to Pull From a Wounded Heart -https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2015/10/5-thorns-to-pull-from-wounded-heart.html
5. Personal Unity. Can the Heart and Mind be United in the Spirit Always? https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2014/02/personal-unity-can-heart-and-mind-be.html
Thanks for reading.
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Testimonies? Share em with me.
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Uganda was amazing.
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So appreciated. Such an offering. Makes all the difference.
With much love in Jesus
You can do this thing! He's got you.
Jeff Reynolds ---
Brother Jeff
