Dear Parents,
Your kid is freaking coming ALIVE!
Sincerely,
Michael (team leader)
PS:
It is simply amazing watching every one on the team come ALIVE!
They all have come so far in such a short time. Truly, I want my ceiling to become their floor and for them to go far beyond the places I have been with God.
Today, I read to the team from the book "Supernatural Ways of Royaly" by Kris Vallotton, from a chapter about identity:
"The devil is the accuser, and he often uses other people to propagate his alias identities over us. My first stepfather used to call me a "supid ass" all the time. This resulted in me always feeling dumb, which really hindered my ability to learn. The name became a mental block, which manifested as a difficulty with reading. When I finished high school I only read at a third grade level.
I have met many women who were called "whores" by their fathers, then struggled with immortality their whole lives. Names can be prophetic declaretions that define a person's identity. Because people act according to who they believe they are, these lies are ultimately acted out in their behavior.
We respond to our environment according to the way we see ourselves. Words spoken to us become names that we carry in our hearts. These names paint a portrait of us in our imagination and become the lenses through which we view our world. Sticks and stones are breaking our bones, but names are taking away our future!
-Names are Prophetic Declarations-
"Just as bad names can hold people in bondage and lead them into destruction, great names can release power into our lives and bring us into our God-given destinies. Many people in the Bible were insignificant until their names were changed. Simon wasn't an apostle until he was named Peter. Saul was not an apostle until his name was changed to Paul.
It is so important that we live by our God-given names and not by names that tie us to bondage. We must break free of all aliases that we have been given by the world…
…A prophetic declaration is more than mere words, because it releases grace to accomplish what it says. Names in the Bible were given to people as a prophetic delcaration of their identity and actually released the very characteristics of their calling to them. Grace as well as disgrace is released by name-calling. Grace is the "operational power of God." Grace is the God-given ability to become what you couldn't become before you received the declaration. Disgrace also has the power to release curses from the dark side…
…Once we realize who we are, our behavior changes because we always act out of our "self-understood" identity. Abram had to have a name change to fulfill his call. God prophesied to Abram that he was going to be the father of many nations. Before he could come into his destiny, his name had to be changed from Abram, which means "exalted father," to Abraham, "the father of a multitude." His name had been limiting his destiny!"
After I read to the team, I gave them each a sheet of paper folded in half. I told them to write on one side, all the lies that have been spoken over them in their lives. They were to write all the false names, and hurtful things spoken over them on that side. Then, on the other side, I told them to write out everything God says about them. This was the truth side.
After everyone finished, I challenged them to stand on a chair and declare the truth side over themselves. One by one, everyone on the team stood on a chair and declared their true identity!
It was awesome seeing everyone experience a breakthrough.
What of the other half of the paper? To hell with it!
"I will not be silent! I was born to worship! I will not be quiet! The voice of fear, you can hold me back no more! I will not give up, what is my inheritance! I was born to do great things, God is alive, He is inside of me!"
(Jonathan David Helser, "I will not be silent", http://jonathanhelser.com/jonathanhelser/Home.html )
