International Family of Affection: Confronting the Control Spirit

Posted July 14th, 2013 at 10:35 pmNo Comments Yet

FORERUNNER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP – MIKE BICKLE
International Family of Affection: Confronting the Control Spirit
I. THE WORD OF THE LORD GIVEN TO ME IN OCTOBER 1990
In October 1990, while on a 30 day ministry trip to the UK, the Lord spoke to me. He said that He was establishing an “international family of affection” in preparation for His End-Time purposes. He would bring strategic shifts and re-alignments of ministries and people. I believe that as we grow many shifts will come in the IHOP structure and teams. We must respond in faith instead of fear and rejection when the Lord makes shifts.
The Lord spoke to me about this in a trance in Cardiff, Wales on Oct. 5, 1990, at 4 AM. Jesus said, “No one with a control spirit can fully experience My Kingdom.”
The Holy Spirit told me a control spirit consists of having a spirit of possessiveness and being entrenched in religious opinions against other ministries. (It is more than being pushy or nosy).
Jesus continued to look into my eyes and said, “All personal rights must be relinquished.”
The Holy Spirit then gave me Ps. 24:1 and Rev. 4:10 saying, “The Father’s will is central in His
Kingdom. The earth belongs to the Lord. All must cast their crowns down before Him.”
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness…and those who dwell therein. (Ps. 24:1)
10 The 24 fall down before Him…and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power…” (Rev. 4:10-11)
We naturally make decisions that give us an advantage over others. We must seek to always take an extra step in the decision making process to specifically ask the Holy Spirit what He wants.
The Lord told me to say these things. I argued saying that I should not say these things because I was in the midst of a controversy. The Spirit said, “I have a controversy with My people.
After the trance lifted, God’s power came on me violently for about 15 seconds. The Spirit impressed me saying, “I will release My power to establish this truth. Some will experience small measures of My power without embracing this. No one will experience the fullness of the power I want to release if they have a control spirit.”
Bob Jones spoke to me about Jacob the manipulator climbing the ladder to heaven at Bethel.
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham…14 your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south…15 I am with you and will keep you wherever you go…” (Gen. 28:12-15)
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FORERUNNER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP – MIKE BICKLE

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OUR INHERITANCE IN GOD: IN THIS AGE AND THE AGE-TO-COME
The principle of our inheritance: we have an eternal inheritance in every person, city or ministry that we sowed into with love (time, labor, intercession, money, tears, encouragement, etc.). We do not lose our inheritance when we have a wrong spirit, but we lose the joy of it.
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Lk. 6:38)
The Lord is orchestrating strategic shifts and re-alignments of ministries and people. If we bless and celebrate people going to other ministries or cities (or departments or worship teams at IHOP), then we have joy and an increased inheritance (for both parties). If we resist the shifts, then we lose the joy and suffer with unnecessary strife and wounded relationships.
For example, if the people you left did not bless you, they lose the joy and resources of your new inheritance at IHOP. If you feel rejected and do not bless them, then you lose the joy and resource of your inheritance with them.
Those who walk in a Kingdom spirit do not lose people but gain friendships and Kingdom alliances. Instead of losing spiritual sons and daughters, they gain spiritual families and a spiritual inheritance in different cities and nations.
Without blessing and joy in the relationship we cannot see how God sees the other person.
We naturally seek to protect our honor, money and influence. A spirit of self protectiveness creates anxiety and division and much unnecessary pain. Unity occurs when we approach relationships with a free spirit that can ask for God’s will regardless of what it costs.
There is more anxiety in prosperity than poverty. We can live in illusion that we are free when we have little money, honor or influence to protect. The truth is that we have not yet been tested. Poor people are often as covetous as rich people, but do not know it. The person who has very little recognition often has as much pride as the one with much recognition.
IHOP is approaching a season of increase. This is a glorious yet dangerous time for a ministry. History shows us that many who have received a 5-10 year season of increase did not do well in the long term (20-30 years). A ministry can suffer a significant spiritual set back in the long term if they do not develop a Kingdom view of people, blessing and increase.
THE KINGDOM QUESTION: “LORD, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?”
A. God is committed to establishing His Kingdom not ours. The Kingdom is any sphere of life that actively obeys the will of God.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Mt. 6:10)
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FORERUNNER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP – MIKE BICKLE
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We naturally make decisions that give us an advantage over others. We must seek to always take an extra step in the decision making process to specifically ask the Holy Spirit what He wants.
The control spirit approaches relationships and situations primarily with the determination to get the best deal (people, honor, money and influence) instead of asking what the Holy Spirit wants in His family. The fundamental premise is that the money and people belong to Jesus, not us.
As King, God can use us to show forth any message that He wants. We naturally assume that the message He wants to impart through us to others is how to walk in God’s favor and power.
Our highest goal is to be trustworthy (worthy of God’s trust) so that we live in agreement with Him when He gives us more blessing. Our highest goal is not to get more money and honor, etc. We win when we obey the will of God, not when we get the best people or the best deal.
The Kingdom approach to our blessing, increase and relationships is to ask the Holy Spirit what He wants and not just how we can gain an advantage from those we relate to.
David inquired of the Lord throughout his prosperous kingship.
4 One thing I have desired of the LORD…that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. (Ps. 27:4)
18 The Philistines…deployed themselves (against Israel) in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines?…” The LORD said to David, “Go up…” 20 David defeated them there…22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer. (2 Sam. 5:18-25)
David sought the Lord’s will about being promoted after suffering 7-8 years in the wilderness chased by King Saul. He had prophetic words from Samuel that he was to be the king of Israel.
1 It happened after this that David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.” (2 Sam. 2:1)
5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God… (Ps. 31:5)
David understood how his sphere of influence grew (God did it) and why it grew. It was not for
David’s sake, but for the sake of God’s Kingdom and the good of God’s people.
12 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel. (2 Sam. 5:12)
IHOP-KC Mission Base www.IHOP.org
FORERUNNER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP – MIKE BICKLE
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DIFFERENT TRIBES IN THE BODY OF CHRIST: STRATEGIC RE-ALIGNMENTS
The Holy Spirit gave me a picture of the nation of Israel being established in 12 distinct tribes. Each tribe was given a different assignment that involved much diversity. However, they were called to be unified in war and worship.
In a similar way, the Body of Christ is composed of different tribes that each have different mandates and assignments from God. The diverse mandates in the Body are not the cause of division. It is the attitude in which we hold our mandate and resources and how we view others.
Unity does not require the removal of the distinctions of the tribes in the Body of Christ, but an attitude of blessing, generosity and release that celebrates who others are in God’s eyes.
The Lord will take some of leaders and families from one tribe and give them to another for the purpose of joining the tribes together in love and multiplying their inheritance. Through history, the children of the kings of Europe intermarried to create national alliances and to stop wars.
The shepherds in the Body of Christ have a dual responsibility in being committed to helping people get into their God given calling and in laboring to fulfill their specific corporate calling. These two callings overlap for the time (long or short) that God sends them to a particular ministry. They serve the mandate of that ministry assignment, yet the leaders are not to lose sight that many of them have a calling beyond that specific ministry.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil…3 for there the LORD commanded the blessing– Life forevermore. (Ps. 133:1-3)
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS
It is easy to pass judgments based on outward appearances. It is easy to judge other ministries or the decisions some make to move to another city or change teams, etc. We must ask God for discernment so that we see people and their ministry assignments through His eyes. We must not base all our opinions by what we see and hear with our physical eyes and ears.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. (2 Cor. 5:16)
If we had all the available information about what God has called one of our co-workers to and why, we would still have less than 1% of the information that God has about His purposes and strategies in calling a person to do a certain thing.
Jesus made judgments (evaluations) by discernment not by what seemed obvious in the natural.
3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears. (Isa. 11:3)
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