TWFJ - EPISODE 11 - INNER JOURNEY 2- The Process
We are all born into the fallen world and suffer emotional wounds and damage. God tells us that we each are travelling a known path:
Psalm 139: 15 – 16
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
This means the family you were born into and the events of your life
have not been accidental. That is pretty hard to hear for some people.
God has trusted some people with very hard journeys.
However, at some point there is the possibility of a change of season.
The timing of this depends on what God has for you to do
in the fulness of your ministry.
When you have all the necessary experiences for God to transform,
you have your moment on the beach, like Peter did.
This is not necessarily when you give your life to Christ but is the time and place where the decision is made to be a disciple
and to totally align yourself to God’s way in the Waterfall.
To trust Him for your family, for your security, and for your future,
putting yourself and your life at His disposal,
thus joining Him in His story and letting Him direct the part you will play in it.
My observation is that the season often changes when a person has a crisis and needs help.
In that place our emotional turmoil is the signal for us
to understand how our story can be redeemed in His.
As our story unfolds there is a choice
to take a risk and move into the Waterfall
and let God be God in our lives or to go on as before.
If we make a decision to trust God and live as He intended
IN HIS PRESENCE, IN THE WATERFALL
the next stage begins and everything changes, as radically
as it did for Peter on the beach,
for now essentially it is about learning to live intimately with God.
We move into a new relationship with each person of the Trinity
and the process of restoration and renewal,
which began when we gave our life to Christ, can now be speeded up. Creatively, God transforms the pain of the past into His resources for ministry.
When we are ready, sufficiently healed and restored,
in God’s time He will launch us into their full ministry
which, because we have learnt to operate under His direction,
will be effective in Kingdom terms.
WE ARE ALL ON A UNIQUE PATH
Ideally, as people are saved and taught the fundamental God truths we are sharing here then all believers would see there is a Waterfall to step into and the reality and the consequences of the choice set before them.
At the moment, we fall short of this in the broad church
maybe only because people do not understand the progression,
being recruited into the army seems enough.
However, the reality is that crossing the line on the beach
and stepping into the Waterfall was
only the start of true discipleship for Peter and so for us.
We need to teach the onward steps, just being in the Kingdom is not enough, the journey needs to continue for people to come into the richness, of all that Jesus died to return to us.
Our lives are the learning ground for our full ministries.
Whatever you have been through, God can turn it around.
No wound or tear or experience is wasted if we are willing to let God deal with the pain.
Imagine you are a cake.
When we give our life to the Lord. He becomes Lord of a slice.
and THE SANCTIFICATION PROCESS begins,
as slice by slice we are restored to our Creator’s pattern.
Under His Lordship we gradually become more and more Christ-like,
in the 3 areas Jesus gave us - The Way, The Truth and The Life.
In addition, damage inflicted by the Fallen world needs to be repaired. Knowing the process of how the Holy Spirit deals with our pain and being able to CO-OPERATE with Him, SPEEDS UP GOD’S TRANSFORMATION as slice by slice, in His best order, He heals the wounds of the past. Holistically the Holy Spirit will lead us to maturity and wholeness.
Emotional pain that comes to the surface is God’s red flag in the minefield saying, “There is pain buried here and it is time to deal with it.”
Residual pain blocks the restoration of our image and the work of the Kingdom. And right now, even as Peter the fisherman had no idea
that he was to be a disciple of the Son of God, and of his extraordinary destiny, you also, may not have an idea of your full ministry.
I bet you are thinking far too small.
Who God reveals Himself to is a mystery but if you are listening to this
I can tell you he is either calling you in or inviting you higher.
Standing still is not an option in discipleship.
He wants to deal with your pain.
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SO GOD DESIRES AND NEEDS TO HEAL US BUT HOW?????
We are are going to look briefly here at an overview of the process but will expand this much more in future episodes.
HOW DO I DO THAT?UNDERSTAND THE HEALING PROCESS
1. FIRSTLY, SOMETHING ERUPTS
When you become aware of a discordant
emotion or a feeling that is unexpectedly strong,
the question to ask the Holy Spirit is, “What is going on here?” Understand a healing lesson is starting.
This is your red flag in the minefield.
We know that the Holy Spirit can and does, heal instantly
but the process of healing is also part of preparing us for our ministry.
With the comfort we receive we will comfort others
so there are many things He needs us to learn, as we go through the process.
2. COLLECT THE CLUES
Once the Holy Spirit has highlighted the beginning of a phase of healing
often by an exaggerated surge of feeling
He will be bringing things that are relevant to light.
Often memories, long-forgotten, will pop into your mind.
He will orchestrate circumstances and experiences that He will speak
through to help your understanding of what is going on in your inner world
Reflect and look for clues, be aware and be expectant. Record them.
3. CO-OPERATE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Do the things that we will suggest in this series of podcasts
– use the tools we are going to share, investigate your feelings,
explore the underlying beliefs you hold about yourself,
look at your behaviour and choices.
Understand your story using the timeline, the spider diagram and your journal.
There are videos on The Waterfall Journey channel on Youtube to bring the
tools further to life.
4. DRAW OUT YOUR STORY -
the timeline and the spider diagram will help you
get a fresh perspective on the issue that the Holy Spirit is highlighting
5. ONCE YOU understand your story you can hold it before the Holy Spirit and often He gives new insights and perspectives .
You can reflect on where you have been acting independently of the Father, ask forgiveness of Him, where you have been going to your well and filling your bucket and you can turn away from your cistern, through the Cross of Jesus and back
into the Waterfall of the Father’s presence.
6. The tasks at this stage are twofold to EXCHANGE THE LIES
we HAVE BELIEVED ABOUT OURSELVES FOR GOD’S TRUTH. We will learn 6 steps to help us renew our minds.
THEN We’ll think about forgiveness - FORGIVING those
who have injured us and ourselves.
7. Next WE’ll TAKE JESUS THERE to the place where the wound
you have uncovered is, within you, so that He can touch you with His healing power.
8. The 8th stage is Bringing the issue into the WATERFALL
by Choosing a Godly goal to replace what you sought in your bucket, e.g. if you were striving to become the perfect Christian and
you had been a PEOPLE PLEASER saying yes to everything
you could by Asking God, make choices in line with God’s will and purpose for you.
Doing the right thing and not just a good thing
This takes time and thought and exploration to adjust your life
and to get used to living out of the new place.
9. The ninth stage is about LETTING GO OF PAIN
When all is understood and the threshold of freedom isa step away,
some people experience their most difficult battle.
It can seem so huge to let go of the pain and grasp
the hope set before you.
When you discover how pain has ruled your life it suddenly seems like a friend.
If it is all you have known, you may question what will life be like in the future without it: the unknown is a dangerous place.
Some people feel if they give up their pain they will lose themselves
as their pain has come to define their identity.
Ultimately, it is a choice to let go and move on.
The more you trust in the character of the Father and stand in the Waterfall the less risky it becomes.
10. SEE THE PATTERN
Though I had many years of counselling from a professional, I also had a sustained two-year period of counselling from the Holy Spirit as a prelude to continual life lessons.
Typically, we went through a lesson every couple of weeks.
IT WOULD START WITH SOMETHING UNEXPECTED, and I learned to turn to the Holy Spirit, knowing a lesson, healing and new freedoms were ahead I would go through the above stages so that I would understand the bit of my story that was under the spotlight and then there would be some challenge attached to my healing from the Holy Spirit
and a narrow gate with Jesus the other side.
The challenge usually led to me having a forty-eight hour tantrum
while Jesus waited patiently leaning on the wall.
It usually took me that long to run out of steam
and then consider and go through to the joy of Jesus‘ welcome
and a new spiritual landscape.
Healing meant freedom and new insights
into both God’s truths and the intimacy of relationship.
Part of the importance of sharing this process is, I believe, that the Holy Spirit wants to do business directly with each disciple and knowing how to co- operate will facilitate this.
DISCIPLES are vulnerable constantly letting God heal them
so there is more room for His love and power
to flow through them to the hurting world
GOD HONOURS PAIN
TURNS IT INTO HOPE AND LOVE
USES IT FOR HIS KINGDOM.
ACT WHENEVER PAIN STRIKES
LEARN THE PROCESS - TEACH IT !!!!!!!
In the next episode we are going to look at some of the places
on our life’s journey where we pick up damage and hurt.
Then we look at some simple and profound tools
that we can use to co-operate with the Holy Spirit as he transforms us.
