Invitation Brings Expansion!

Most Christian leaders I know, including myself, have a desire to see the Kingdom of God expand. Some want to grow their churches, some want to send missionaries to the field, some evangelize the lost and heal the wounded, and some pray for revival.

Each of us has a part to play, and every one of us will have a different vision. At the moment, I am called to write, while you might be called to share Jesus in your workplace. God invites ALL of us to help build His Kingdom, yet we ALL need to invite God into our processes first to see His Kingdom expand!

If you’re longing to bear more fruit for the Kingdom of God, these words the Lord shared with me recently will encourage you.

PARTICIPATION REQUIRES INVITATION

A few weeks ago, I heard the Lord say:

“Begin every task with the simple prayer of invitation. If I dined with sinners and tax collectors who invited Me, how much more will I come to you, My beloved! Inviting Me stirs up something new on the inside of you; it is not for My benefit but for yours that the lesser invites the greater to come.”

What is the prayer of invitation? It can be as simple as “Jesus!” (or as my pastor teaches our kids, “Help me, Jesus!”) For me, it is often a prayer of consecration, surrendering my mind, body, and senses to Him as I listen and then act on what He shows me.

At the start of a new project, it can be “Lord, I don’t know how to do this right, but you do. Give me wisdom.” When we’re not sure what to do next, it can sound like: “God, I need your direction and confirmation for the future. Show me what You’re doing, and help me to recognize Your signs along the way.”

Sometimes we have to take the first steps before we see what He is doing!

Just this week I was put on the spot. My husband and I had to attend, quite unexpectedly, a funeral for someone who died a tragic death.

Because we had been away for several days, I had not had time to pray beforehand and found myself in the receiving line at the funeral home, wondering what on earth I could say to a mother whose child had been taken far too soon. There are no words for situations like that!

As we drew nearer and nearer, I began to quietly cry out one simple word: “Jesus! Jesus!” Only He could know what was needed at that moment.

When my turn came with the grieving mother, I found that Christ’s love had overtaken me. His compassion welled up in me and I discovered that He did have something to say - something that brought hope and comfort as I embraced her with His love. All because I invited Him to be there.

God longs to reach people with His love much more than we do. When we ask for His help, He answers. His participation simply requires our invitation.

​INTIMACY REJECTS INTIMIDATION

Why would we not invite God to participate in our everyday endeavors? I believe one of the major hindrances to including God is the subtle belief that God, like other authority figures we have known, is against us. To this, God replies: “I am not out to get you; I’m out to empower you!”

The Lord has often been misrepresented and misunderstood. He says: “I long for those who seek My heart, looking past what is commonly accepted about Me to find real refreshment in who I am.”

The Bible says we serve a God who is eager to empower His people. When it comes to fulfilling our dreams, though, some of us have served under harsher taskmasters whose personal agendas led them at times to quench dreams of our own.

We need to renew our minds to the promise that God is for us, not against us! He believes His Holy Spirit is capable of guiding and directing us every time we step out in faith - and it is faith that pleases Him! (See Hebrews 11:6) Intimacy rejects the enemy’s intimidation, choosing to believe in what God says about our future.
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​EXPANSION REQUIRES MOVEMENT

I often share an illustration when I teach, to the effect that it is far easier to guide an object or a person who is in motion than one who is at a standstill. If you are moving, I can easily direct you or adjust your course. If you stubbornly resist, standing still, I cannot guide you unless I also first motivate you.

Faith works the same way. Faith without works is at a standstill! But take a step of faith, and all of heaven comes to assist you:

“I cannot bless what you do not attempt! Movement is essential in My Kingdom, for without a step of faith there will be no forward progress. All My goodness is precipitated upon you reaching for it and welcoming it into your midst. Whatever you are doing has the potential to be richly blessed as you invite Me into your process.”
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BREADTH REQUIRES DEPTH

Do you have a sphere of people you influence or mentor? A church, a small group, or some spiritual sons and daughters?

There is a danger we must avoid as we are seeking growth and expansion. The temptation can be to reach for quantity rather than quality, looking more closely at numbers than fruit.

David made this mistake (taking Israel’s census), as did Gideon (he saw God whittle his army down to warriors in order to win the Midianite battle). They both pursued breadth instead of depth. What if God saw things differently?

“Expansion comes not from a wider reach but from deeper involvement. Pour into the ones you have and they will reach others. Start where you are and invest heavily despite the odds against them. You will see increase simply because joy will spring out of those you pour into!”

There are leaders who have a wider call to reach the community. Some are called to reach the masses. Yet there are also those whom God is calling to come deeper. Are you one of them?

Could it be that a previous season of outreach and widespread ministry has ended, and you are being invited by the Lord to settle in more intimately with Him? To share your wisdom with a few who will then impact the many because they have been so deeply and radically empowered?

One of the benefits of age is focus. I do not have the time or energy I had as a 20-year-old! I have a family to provide for, elderly parents who sometimes require care, responsibilities in my church and community, and basic physical changes that keep me from doing as much as I used to.

The benefit of these limitations, however, is that they have sharpened my focus. Time is precious, and the wisdom of age is that I no longer need to do everything, but only essential things. What is essential to you? What is God showing you?
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GOD'S WORDS RELEASE POWER

Spiritual wisdom works this way. After a series of efforts by trial and error, we come to realize that it does not pay to do things our own way! Only faith pleases God, not human effort. We begin to seek God more intentionally, knowing that when God releases a word to us, or a new commission, there is power within that word to accomplish it!

Good leaders yearn for the tasks that come from God’s throne for this time. We bear more fruit as we pursue less of our own agenda! Growth comes from time spent in God’s Presence. The prophetic dreams God releases on the inside of you are worth pursuing because when you act on them, God releases the power to make them come to pass!

Let me finish with a few more words of encouragement: 

“Peter was plagued by his own fears until I unleashed in him something much greater. The Greater One is within you now, and your time to lead has come! Do not shy away from your dreams any longer, but latch on to My goodness and preach about Me wherever you go, for signs and wonders will follow you as you do so!” 

“Watch as I weave together ALL your plans so that they “fit” and form a beautiful tapestry. All your desires have been noted and were known to Me long before you were even aware of them. From the foundation of the world until now I have had a place in time for you that only you could fill, replete with wonderful fruit. Your impact will sustain and propel others after you, as part of an eternal and never-ending chain of glory.”
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Daniel 5:23 reads: “God holds in His hand your life and all your ways.” You cannot mess up when you invite God to be involved! My prayer for you today is that in ALL your ways you will acknowledge Him so that He can make straight your paths. 
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INVITE GOD THROUGH PRAYER:

Father, I pray: “Let your Kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” I believe invitation brings expansion. I want to be part of what You are doing right now to expand heaven on earth.

I invite You to be involved in every aspect of my life and dreams. Help me to remember that Your ways are different from mine! I choose to go deeper, not wider. I trust that “marketing” is nothing compared to Divine multiplication!

I choose intimacy with You, rejecting any intimidation I have felt in the past. Father, You are good! I commit to moving forward in faith so that You can guide me. I believe that as I focus on the essential things You call me to do, everything else in Your wonderful plan will fall into place, and we will ALL behold Your goodness in the end! Amen.

© Deborah Perkins / www.HisInscriptions.com

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​Deborah Perkins is the founder of His Inscriptions, a ministry designed to help you "Discover Life-Giving Communication with God." She lives in New England with her husband, three teenage boys, one cat, and four feisty chickens. Want to learn more, join a mentoring group, or sow a seed into this ministry? Click here for more info!