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FROM
REALMS OF GLORY (by Mark Sadler) "For
the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea." Hab.2:14
Change
is a fact of life. Even the Amish, who are traditionally resistant to change,
have been forced by many states, much to their disgust, to attach reflective
orange triangles to the back of their solid black buggies. But
those of us who are not Amish normally expect and welcome changes from time
to time. We do, that is, except when the changes appear to be too fast and
too radical. The fact of the matter is that the body of Christ has now
entered one of those seasons of extraordinary change. Are
you ready for this kind of change! Hearing
the Holy Spirit Where
are these changes coming from? Very simple! The Holy Spirit is speaking to
the churches. Jesus tells us in Revelation that those who have ears should
hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. I am committed to opening the
ears of Global Harvest Ministries so that so that not only do we accurately
hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, but also that, no matter what
the cost, we obey that word and move into the new streams of God. This
requires us to go through what are commonly referred to as "paradigm
shifts." What, exactly, does this mean? Paradigm
Shifts To
answer that we need to know, first of all, what a paradigm is. A paradigm is
a mental grid through which we interpret certain segments of reality.
Different people will interpret the same facts in different ways depending on
the paradigms that have been fixed in their minds. This is why, to take a
familiar example, a pessimist will say the glass is half empty while an
optimist will say the same glass is half full. But
paradigms are not necessarily permanent, like the color of your eyes. They
can and do change. To use a personal example, for quite a while I ministered
under a paradigm that divine healing was a farce. No numbers of personal
healing testimonies could change my conclusions because of my paradigm. My
paradigm, of course, has now shifted so much that I teach whole courses in
power healing. I
believe that one of the assignments that God has given to Global Harvest
Ministries is to help the body of Christ walk through a number of paradigm
shifts. One of the advantages that Doris, Chuck Pierce and I have is that we
have spent so much time under the old paradigms that we understand the
traditional mindset very well. I use the word "mindset" because the
focus of shifting paradigms has to be the mind. Don’t forget that a
paradigm is a "mental grid." So this not so much of a change in the
heart or in the emotions or in the will, although all of them are involved.
It is, first and foremost, a change of mind. Renewing
Our Minds The
Bible deals with this in Romans 12:2. It says, "Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may
prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Do you
want to do God’s will? If so, you must be willing to be transformed in
your mind, in other words in the way you think. Here are some of the current
paradigm shifts that Global Harvest wants to be a part of: 1.
The shift from tolerating the Traditional
Christianity has been far too passive concerning the works of the devil.
You’ve heard it: "If you talk about Satan it glories him." "Our
weapons of warfare are defensive, not offensive." "If you do
spiritual warfare, you might end up a casualty." It’s time to
change our minds. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. He gives us
authority over all the power of the enemy (Lk. 2.
The shift from denominational government to apostolic government. God
changes times and seasons. For over 300 years denominational government
served the churches well. During that season, for a starter, we evangelized a
good part of the world. Curiously, the biblical offices of apostle and
prophet were largely ignored over that period of time. A new season has
arrived, however. The Holy Spirit is saying that now is the time to recognize
and affirm the roles of contemporary apostles and prophets. We must move
beyond the unbiblical "doctrine of democracy" in church government,
recognizing that the Holy Spirit delegates and entrusts authority to anointed
individuals. Pastors must be leaders of their local churches, no longer
simply employees. Apostles, rather than general assemblies or district
councils or synods or state conventions, must enable pastors and other
leaders to fulfill their divine destinies. 3.
The shift from internal reform to apostolic renewal. Building
on the shift to apostolic leadership in the church is a new paradigm now
being embraced by many denominational renewal leaders. For more than thirty
years they hoped against hope that their entire denominations might be
renewed spiritually and theologically. However, not a single denomination has
been renewed. Instead, recent headlines from the Catholic Church and the
Episcopal Church, just to take two examples, indicate that things have gone
in exactly the opposite direction. The new paradigm is moving toward whole
congregations withdrawing from their traditional denominational affiliation
to join together in apostolic networks. In doing so, they can retain the
positive values of their denominational heritage while at the same time
becoming new wineskins eligible to receive God’s new wine. 4.
The shift from church vision to kingdom vision. Conventional
church wisdom has supposed that authentic Christian ministry is done in the
setting of the local church or in church-sponsored activities or in
recognized para church organizations. This is based
on a related premise that the church is the visible manifestation of the 5.
The shift from the expansion of the church to the transformation of society. Those
who have been related to me for a while know that my academic title is
"professor of church growth." The expansion of the church has long
been my passion, and it still is. Predictably, then, this paradigm shift has
not been the easiest one for me to make. But I will admit that I have changed
my thinking. I still have the passion for church expansion, but it has become
a secondary passion, subservient to a still stronger desire to see society
transformed by the power of God. The new paradigm takes more literally the
prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven." I want Global Harvest Ministries to
be counted among those who will not rest until we see our cities and our
regions and our nations transformed from top to bottom by the power of the
Holy Spirit. Copyright
© 2002 Global Harvest Ministries. All Rights Reserved ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Thank you for keeping this ministry supported!
And be sure to let your friends know about us!
Because of you, we are reaching many nations with the
prophetic ministry
of equipping, educating, exhorting and enabling.
Because we are a total faith ministry, we need your help.
Your gifts enable us to do this and be cutting edge.
Thank you for your support that keeps us going on! God
bless you!!
Pam Clark
Trumpet Wind Ministries
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