We are embarking on a journey that will cause us to leave the shores of comfortable lifestyles, and embrace a risk filled life that will produce Bible size encounters with the Lord. To take this journey, you will have to be willing to lay aside your dependence on anything except Holy Spirit. The decision to take the steps necessary will destroy the fence that we've learned to straddle. This journey will lead you into the very thing you were birthed into the earth to accomplish.
I have felt for some time now that 2019 was going to be a significant year of release for those that are willing to break free from the pull of complacency and willing to take the road that will lead to devotional exclusivity. I believe we are stepping into a 5-year season that, if we are willing to steward properly what He is releasing to us, will unlock things that have been held up or held back from us concerning our personal prophetic words over our lives.
2019 will be a year that we will become firmly established in our identity as sons and daughters, in the grace that we've been given to walk in our calling, and in the truths concerning lies that we've believed about ourselves, family, church, and the world.
Colossians 2:6-7- As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. I was in my personal devotional time this week, and these two verses jumped out at me. I've been in ministry for over 25 years now and one thing that has stood out to me time after time is the fact that few are willing to be rooted in Christ. I truly believe that this is one of the main reasons that the church has not moved into the fullness of what God has been calling them into. When we are not willing to go through the process of being rooted, we make our lives and ministries susceptible to dysfunction and destruction.
Paul tells us here that after we've received Christ that we should learn to walk in Him. Walk is one of my favorite words to look at in the New Testament. The definition of the word simply means, “to regulate one's life after.” After we've joined ourselves to Christ, we must learn to bring our lives into uniformity with Jesus, and this is the beginning stages of the process of becoming “rooted in Christ.” In our current culture of being so offended, we have become people that are more led by their feelings than by the Spirit of God. When we are led by our feelings, we don’t allow our roots to grow deep enough to produce the fruit of true discipleship. There must be an emphasis placed on teaching the necessity of being rooted in Christ as it applies to living a fulfilling life as a believer.
We must understand what rooted means before we could ever know how that word applies to our walk with Christ. It means to be firmly established or to be thoroughly grounded. You will never produce proper fruit until you are properly rooted. Too many people find themselves frustrated over the lack of fruit but are not willing to take a personal inventory and responsibility of how deep their roots are growing. No one is responsible for your growth but you! In a time where people want instant gratification and results, as a follower of Christ, we can’t short-cut the process of becoming firmly established and thoroughly grounded in Christ.
In conclusion, we must become self-aware of how deep we are allowing our roots to grow in the soil of the Kingdom. I am always reevaluating my life and trying to find areas that need to be more established in the truth of God’s word. I will be releasing more on this topic over the next month. I pray that it will help encourage and equip you to grow into the fullness of all that God has called you to be and do. God bless!!!
John Purcell