Positioned for Transformation

These are my notes from a message I listened to last year by Lance Wallnau called "Positioned for Transformation"  I found it to be very encouraging, especially when going through difficulty, or as he calls it, the "process".

Here it is:
The “process” is about integrating the Word into your life experience so that you become a “message” as well as a messenger. 

This is why John the Baptist was able to say “I am the Voice of one crying in the wilderness.”

When you have found your Voice, you are manifesting your destiny.  It’s called your Authentic Voice.  You won’t find your authentic voice until you have had Process events.  Process events knock the echo of other people’s voices out of your life so that you can discover the unique expression God gave to you.

You might have an echo that says “You’re not going to amount to anything”.  Or, ”You know, you’re not really built for that”  But your authentic voice changes that.  Which is why you need to proclaim out of your mouth what God wants to see manifested in your life.

You can stop the process of God through whining, complaining, unbelief, etc.  Then you will get a smaller measure of what God has in mind.  It is a matter of fulfilling the prophetic word God has for your life.

Process events are the experiences you’ve had, the trauma, the climactic church splits, betrayals, heart breaks.  They are also your breakthroughs, moments of exhilaration.  All of that comes together to encourage you, and to shape you for your ultimate destiny.

Everybody wants breakthrough, blessing, supernatural encounters, etc, but nobody wants the process.  Everybody wants to have the heart of David, or to rule like Joseph.  But, if you really want that – do you want to go through the process that David or Joseph went through? 

To release Israel out of Jacob, there had to be a process event.(worked for years for Laban)  God is more interested in releasing Israel out of you than making you happy.  Because he knows your ultimate happiness is when you conform to the image of Christ.  Process events are the necessary chiseling to release the genius. 

The process is usually from high to low, high to low.  But, if you understand the process you can learn to endure the process and then learn to actually enjoy the process.

What did David do?  David had a revelation of something.  “Thou hast enlarged me when I was in my distress”.  He was expanding David to be able to rule, and at the right time he would rule.   

David figured out how to take the low points and make them his passion points.  He took his pain and process, and turned them into an occasion for worship and intimacy.  The psalms is the journey of an artist/musician in warfare with the devil who writes his songs from the solitude of reflecting on the processes he was in so he got an anointed perspective that led into an overcoming state.

It’s here that you learn the art of fulfillment.  If you don’t understand this, you won’t have a happy, overcoming disposition during the process.  You’ll just be holding on until you get to the next mountaintop.  It’s easy to be happy on the mountain top, but it’s much more difficult in the process.  Why not just enjoy the whole thing.

You don’t really have to know the future, you just have to have the right attitude toward the process.  Joseph didn’t have a clue that he would rule in Egypt.  He was simply faithful in what he was given at the time. He gave himself to the process.  It started out with a dream, but he didn’t have have any idea how that dream would be fulfilled or the details of how it would work out.  In fact, he tried to make it happen too soon by declaring the dream a little prematurely to his Dad and brothers.  Then he encountered the process, and he remained an overcomer during the process.

Growing in Faith

You may have heard it said, "You just have to keep your eyes on Jesus", or "Just behold him with the eyes of your heart".  When we become self-focused and lacking in Faith, this can be quite difficult to do.  It would probably be easier to just go lift up the corner of our house or lift ourselves up by our own bootstraps. It is actually quite impossible to keep our eyes on Jesus simply by trying harder.

How do we learn to live by Faith, and not by sight?  How do we learn to see with the eyes of our heart, not just our natural eyes?  How do we increase our Faith so we are not living by feelings?  How does Faith grow?  Why do we wrestle with our Flesh, and sometimes never seem to have victory?

Let's look at Romans 12:2 and 2 Cor 10:5

^{Ro 12:2} Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Cor 10:5 - We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The Battle begins in our Minds.  I believe the main reason most Christians lack Faith and live by feelings, is because their thought life has not been taken captive and made obedient to Christ.  We are in a war!  Our minds must come into alignment with the Mind of Christ, the Word of God!

Galatians 5:17 says "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other"

We must learn to recognize ungodly thoughts that set themselves up against the knowledge of God, and take them captive!

Romans 10:17 - So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith comes and grows by a revelation of the Word of God. As we meditate on and ponder the Word of God - it becomes revelation to us.  God's word then becomes more real than our circumstances and what we see with our natural eyes.  God's word becomes tangible - it becomes filled with faith and we can see the evidence of things unseen with the eyes of our heart.

John 5:38, 39  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

God's word must become more than just "information", it must become "Revelation".  The Pharisees had lots of information - they knew the scriptures inside and out, backwards and forwards.  What they were lacking was "Revelation", God's word was not really "abiding" in them.  We must become one with God's words, they must become our daily bread, our life.  This happens when we grow in relationship with God and as we overcome in the daily battles.  His words move from our heads into our hearts and become part of our daily experience.  We learn to trust him and his words more than we trust ourselves. 

How did Jesus defeat the devil in the wilderness?  (Luke 4).  That's right - with God's word.  The devil was able to quote God's word, but he did it in a mocking way.  That's because he doesn't really know God's heart.  Jesus knows God's heart, and was speaking out of his deep relationship with God the Father when he used God's Word to defeat the devil. Jesus lived a life of absolute trust and dependence upon God the Father and upon the Holy Spirit.  The wonderful thing about the temptation of Jesus is to see how completely Jesus trusted God as his provider, and the keeper of his future.  Jesus refused to give in to short-term thinking ("turn these stones into bread") and instead looked with the eyes of faith into what his future would be like if he actually gave in to the temptation.

Here is what I have done in the past, and what I strongly suggest you do.  When you are having dark, defeated thoughts or are being tempted by the enemy; first, write the thoughts down.  Identify each of these thought patterns as lies, then ask God to show you the truth and shine light into those areas of darkness.  Write down the truth God speaks to you to replace those lies.  Most of the time, it will be a direct scripture.  It could also be a picture, vision, or dream.  Or, God may speak truth to you through someone else who you are sharing your struggles with.  You can do this in many areas, whether it be Fear, anxiety, self-focus, bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, purposelessness, envy, jealousy, provision, etc.

A counselor at a church we once attended, Robert Fetveit, often said:  "I am an evangelist to the unconverted areas of the believer's heart"

We must learn to replace lies with truth throughout our daily lives.   But you can't fight lies by just casting them down - you must replace the lies with the truth of God's words.  Then, turn the truth into a prayer of faith that is in the direct opposite spirit as the lie.  You can craft very personal prayers to combat the enemy.  Here are some examples:

1.  Not feeling God's presence, feeling rejected or abandoned by God.

Prayer of Faith: God, I believe that you are present right now, whether I feel it or not. I believe you will never leave me or forsake me.  You promised that nothing can ever separate me from your love. Romans 8:38,39

2.  Purposelessness

Prayer of Faith: Jer 29:11 - God, I know you have plans for me, to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future.  You have not forgotten about me, You have engraved me on the palms of your hands. Isaiah 49:16.  I believe you exist, and you will reward me as I diligently seek you - Heb. 11:6.

3. Bitterness and unforgiveness.

Prayer of Faith:  I refuse to allow this person to control my life and make me angry.  They do not determine my identity, only you can do that Lord.  I am your son(or daughter), you are well pleased with me.  Even though this person may hate me and has wronged me, I believe that you love me, Lord.  This person has made me extremely angry, but I ask you to remove this anger, Lord.  Lord, I release this person and what they have done to me to you.  Judgment and vengeance is yours, and I refuse to judge and seek vengeance.  Luke 6:28 - Lord, I choose to bless and pray for __________.  Lord, I ask you to remove from me the bitterness I feel.  I choose to forgive ___________.  Lord, is there something you would like me to do as a blessing for this person, would you have me write out a blessing or send a gift to this person? 

4. Fear

2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  1 John 4:17 - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  Romans 8:15 - For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Prayer of Faith:  Lord, wrap me in your arms of perfect love and drive out all Fear.  I come to you as your son(or daughter) and cry, "Abba, Father".  I refuse to give way to Fear (1 Pet 3:6) and declare that the spirit of fear has no power over me.  I have the Holy Spirit in me that gives me power, love, and a sound mind.  I have overcome the world, just as you have overcome the world.

5.  Feeling like God is angry with you or disappointed in you today

Prayer of Faith:  God, I believe you never change - you are the same yesterday, today, and forever.  You loved me yesterday when I felt your love, so I believe you also love me today.  You are not fickle and capricious like pagan gods.  Your love is constant, it remains the same every day.  You have always loved me, you love me now, and you will always love me - regardless of how well I feel like I have performed.  I know I am not perfect, and I sometimes fail - but I believe that will never change how you feel about me.  I am your son(or daughter), and you love me just like a human parent loves and wants the best for their children.  Just like the prodigal son who returned to his father smelling like pigs, you still loved him and accepted him - you ran to him and embraced him before he could even say a word.

6.  Failure

Prayer of Faith:  I know a wise man falls and gets up 7 times.  This failure will not defeat me - in fact, this is how I will defeat the enemy, by getting back up quickly.  I only really fail when I have fallen and refuse to get back up, wallowing in self-pity and self-focus.  Lord, I repent for what I did, it grieved your heart and hurt others.  I receive your forgiveness and restoration.  Let your face shine upon me - restore to me the joy of my salvation (Psalm 51)

7. Anxiety

Prayer of Faith:  I refuse to worry about tomorrow - tomorrow has enough troubles of its own.  I bring this situation to you that I am anxious about - release your peace into it.  I choose to focus on you and not let my mind become divided.  I receive your peace, because you are the prince of Peace.  I choose to focus on your hugeness, your provision, your blessings.  I refuse to dwell on something that will probably never come to pass.  I thank you for a positive outcome, and I picture you, Lord, right in the middle of this situation or circumstance.  I refuse to give in to a bleak picture where you are not present.

Refuse to become over-focused on the lies and problems - all these examples are intended to get our focus back on God and the truth.  This builds faith!

If all else fails, and you can't even pray - cry out to Jesus for help!  He will come and rescue you, he is your rescuer!