Recently, I heard the Lord say, “I am redrawing the
borders”. As I continued to listen, He said, “I am redrawing the borders of your
spiritual authority and revealing new spheres of influence. The resulting realignment
will reveal lines of authority only seen in the spiritual realm and not limited
to the national borderlines depicted on your maps.” The Lord went on to say, “Ask
Me for the discernment needed to see what I am doing. With this expansion will
come the release of apostolic teams I will use to establish My reign within
these newly formed jurisdictions.”
When Jan and I lived in Europe, I read and studied the
history of the nations on the European continent. The borders we see on our
current maps were not always the historic borders of the European nations. The borders in Europe have shifted many times
over the last 1,000 years. The same is true for other regions of the world. Nations
and empires were constantly redefined and redrawn as the result of wars and
alliances formed by marriage and commerce.
God’s map is drawn differently. Underneath the migrating
borders of each nation there exists a spiritual map drawn by God that reveals a
deeper spiritual reality. That map is the one God wants us to use to direct our
effort and energy.
Whenever I drive or fly into a new region, I always pray
when I cross a defining border. Even a sign noting a new county line or city
limits prompts me to pray for wisdom and discernment to see beneath the natural
border to understand what is taking place in the realm of the Spirit.
God is realigning His Church. Realignment in the spiritual
realm precedes realignment in the natural realm. Understanding God’s strategic
plans for conducting spiritual warfare and cultural transformation helps us see
the border of the real conflict that is often hidden from undiscerning eyes.
New apostolic blueprints are arriving from Heaven. These
blueprints will be used to redraw the maps of our spiritual authority and reveal
God’s plan. God is assigning cartographers to use these blueprints to redraw
the map. These cartographers are those in five-fold ministry who will bring new
clarity, understanding and simplicity to our mission.
The five-fold equipping gifts have a distinct and
collaborative function in the process of redrawing these maps. Apostles receive
the blueprints for cultural transformation and Kingdom expansion. Prophets announce
the arrival of the new blueprint. Evangelists recruit the human resources needed
to accomplish the blueprint. Pastors create environments where these blueprints
can grow and flourish. Teachers expand the concepts contained in the blueprint
like an engineer would create a detailed schematic drawing of a complex machine
to explain each part and its relationship to the whole in understandable detail
and terminology.
Discern these new borders with expansion in mind. God’s
Kingdom is always advancing, never retreating. God has assigned ever-expanding
borders of influence for His Church and His Kingdom. This expansion will not go
challenged because the salvation of people and the transformation of cultural
institutions are at stake.
When Luke wrote the opening lines of Acts (1: 6-8) he shared
the words of Jesus that addressed that expansion. “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is
it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It
is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own
authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest part of the earth.’”
The disciples initially
saw the Kingdom confined to a single area defined by existing and familiar borders.
Jesus was telling His disciples after the Day of Pentecost the Spirit would
have them step through the restraints of existing national borders and cultural
prohibitions to move into new territory already mapped out by God as a place of
expansion.
Do not allow the outcome of an election, an economic
downturn or an avalanche of sin to divert your attention from the larger work God
is doing. A temporary skirmish at a wrong border will be a waste of your time
and energy and will not put you on the cutting edge of spiritual conflict.
Kingdom expansion is an aggressive and forward moving endeavor. It does not
park at a false border and exchange fire with a diversion tactic. While in
Jerusalem the disciples were asked to look to the uttermost parts of the Earth
as their ultimate destination. They moved under the direction and definition of
God’s unseen Kingdom map.
The apostolic teams God is raising will act as spiritual
cartographers who will redraw the lines of our spiritual authority on Earth
creating new borders of influence in all areas of culture. These redrawn map
lines will take a foundational position under our natural maps of human
influence and demand their realignment to the will of God. This coming realignment
is where to invest your time and energy for the greatest return on your Kingdom
investment. With that investment will come a blessing to see what is taking
place on Earth with the eyes of the Spirit.
“Turning to the
disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are
the eyes which see the things you see, for I say to you, that many prophets and
kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which
you hear, and did not hear them.”
(Luke 10:23-24)
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