BUILT DIFFERENT: Champions of the faith arise; Jesus is guiding you into new unknown territories
Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
There's a new breed of apostles, prophets, teachers and leaders that God is now pushing forward into places the enemy has held captive for way too long.
Christ is entering into families who have faced strongholds for generations and endured tremendous warfare over the years. The reckless love of God is barreling through prison walls, into landlocked areas riddled with drugs and crime, and nations and islands that have not heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This new breed of leaders are stamped with God’s approval and chiseled with the branding iron of Christ. They are the ‘Calebs’ and ‘Esthers’ and ‘Peters’ among us. They have been emboldened and raised by the hand of the Father themselves, and they burn with a fiery passion for blazing trails into the unknown. They are not afraid of weapons, dominions, principalities, people or places standing in their way.
They are champions of the faith, trailblazers, the overlooked and cast aside, the unknown, betrayed and forgotten — but God personally raised these people up for such a time as this.
They are the new defenders of the faith and they love with intensity because God loved them first. The Lord refined their faith and helped them walk through the pain.
Now the enemy is about to watch as the Lord sets them in their rightful positions to break down walls in places that have not heard the name of Jesus. These are the special force operators of the faith, and just like CIA agents, they don't exactly look like people expect. They have been hidden and trained behind the scenes, and YHWH is about to unleash them worldwide because this is the new face of revival.
True revival is messy, disrupts the flow, requires work, and means stepping forth with a message that might go against the grain.
YOU WILL TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!
This is the God gap. It's intentionally orchestrated by our Eternal God. The Lord is rewriting your story.
These new defenders of the faith are the Peters among us, the blue-collared ones without formal religious training. Jesus discipled them on His own and raised them up as His precious and beloved child. Now they boldly walk to throne and submit to the unknown to spread the Gospel.
They opened their hearts and let God take it all, and He completely recreated these warriors in His image. God has positioned and primed them in the corporate world, the marketplace, entertainment and sports, in prison cells, as business owners, hospital workers, they are moms with children, single fathers, and the people who walk among us who have long been hidden. Many live in families and countries where Christianity is not allowed.
They have battled with rejection over and over ago and suffered extraordinarily long seasons of barrenness, and they never abandoned God's call. He was all they had, and they ran into the arms of Jesus because they knew something greater was at work.
The Father's love is so deep and wide for these chosen, and He is relentlessly chasing after you with all He has.
Years ago, Jesus appeared to you in the most vulnerable time in your life and loved you back to life in slow and methodical steps. Step-by-step He poured out into your life as His own precious disciple and child without you even realizing what was to come. You became just fine doing life with the One who left the 99 to pursue you. You couldn't earn it and didn't deserve it, yet Jesus stepped into your boat anyway. Now all these years later, He's prepared you for something even more remarkable for His Kingdom.
You just left the boat where you fished all night and didn't catch anything. Further and further, God pushed you from the shore and made you brave. You didn't sink here, nor did you have to walk on water or swim; you just had to endure one final season of catching nothing. Then Jesus called out from the shore and said try one more time. Cast one more time, but this time on the right side. He tells you EXACTLY where to find the fish.
Jesus is so specific when we surrender. The lesson here is to always follow His divine directions.
He gave you the divine strategy that opened the door and brought forth the multitude because He loves you. He never forgot you. He was always watching and protecting you from the shore. Jesus promised you He would come again, and He did. Your Father in Heaven held you close, and He always had a set time for you to be revealed.
The overhaul was magnificent, but you didn't see Jesus just yet because it looked different. The overhaul was the deliverance of things that held you bound for years, and in an instant, all the strongholds broke in the spirit.
Then your eyes opened. When Jesus met the disciples on the shoreline with the catch of 153 fish, the light was dim, and Jesus likely looked different. Yet, as they got closer, they knew.
GOD MAKES ALL THINGS NEW, INCLUDING HOW HE APPEARS IN YOUR LIFE. HIS LOVE IS WILLING TO GO TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH FOR YOU. MAY HIS GLORY SHINE IN YOUR LIFE IN NEW AND REMARKABLE WAYS THIS SEASON!
You’re built different because God built you.
“THEY KNEW IT WAS THE LORD.” (John 21:12)
God is coming for people who never quite fit in anywhere and wrestled with inadequacy your entire life. Difference makers are different, so it’s time to embrace your uniqueness! It's not that you're seeing the Lord wrong, you're seeing yourself wrong, and that's why you need breakfast with Jesus again.
When was the last time you had a "I just knew it was the Lord" moment?! He appeared in your life a little differently this time. He diverted you on the alternate route that might have been confusing at times, but then everything just came into focus. That’s what happened in John 21.
First, Jesus stood on the shore after the disciples fished all night long. They admitted their lack when He called out to them.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
The Lord came into their profession and livelihood and took their natural talent and merged it with His unmerited grace. God can take our nothing and make it multiply.
He could have appeared as they walked the desolate roads, inside their homes during night hours, or among the people who gathered to mourn him. Instead, this final time, he waited until they were back to what was familiar and the original place where He first called them years earlier.
The disciples fished to provide for their families and now God was about to provide for them.
Jesus said: "Come and have breakfast." (John 21:12a)
Breakfast = the fast had broken. Jesus said, "come," as He told Peter once before when he asked the disciple to come and step out of the boat. Jesus was setting up a moment where Peter would later be reaffirmed, set upright again and wholly healed before being called to public ministry. But first, they had to dine together.
None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. (John 21:12b)
The word "dared" stuck out in the above passage because there's such exactness and firmness with that word. In the original Greek transcripts, variations of the word were used many times when the Messiah provided such irrefutable evidence of His deity that He silenced doubters.
Other times, followers of Christ bowed in such profound respect that they didn't dare do anything outside the realm of Christ. ἐξετάσαι means 'to examine by questioning.' They didn't need to interrogate Jesus because they were convinced who He was.
The name of Jesus makes the darkness tremble. There's just a deep reverence and respect that saturates the wall when you see the power of the Risen Christ at work. He silences people. The glory is just too mighty for human comprehension.
When the disciples met Jesus along the shoreline, He already had provisions ready on the fire, but the overflow allowed them to partner in the miracle.
Some of you might relate to what the disciples likely felt that night when they went without catches. Everything had dried up. Without fish, their livelihood and finances would likely dwindle. This was a competitive, grueling business just like many of your careers. Nothing was working for them. They were in a place of lack. Then love broke through at dawn. Jesus doesn't only provide, but He knows what we need well in advance. This should bring us great comfort and hope as we prepare to walk in the new season.
God is wooing many of you the exact same way right now. He's saying: All things are now ready; I have prepared a meal before you. Come now, let's sit down together again and dine and remember why I have called you for such a time as this. I am Jesus, I am God, I am Father, I AM THE I AM. But I am also your Friend.
Come, let’s sit together again and get filled up in ways that only I can provide.
HOW TO APPLY THIS LESSON IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW
1.) CLOCK IN WITH CHRIST
The Lord gave the disciples divine instructions and fed them, but they had to actually work and pull in the overhaul. This is a joint partnership.
The days of manna and being fed by ravens are long over for you at this place. Now you must clock in with Christ and repeatedly await for His instructions and then pull in the overflow. Peter pulled in the net of 153 fish and some scholars believed it weighed 300 pounds! Jesus was over there cooking on the fire. He didn’t run over to pull the net because He wanted to make sure the disciples knew with certainty the power of the provision. They needed to physically touch and feel and understand with clarity the magnitude of this miracle. They eagerly pulled the net and counted every last fish. The point of the whole story though is the net did not break! This is the same thing with the church. No matter what society tries, the Lord’s Kingdom will not break.
INSTRUCTIONS: The Lord is enabling some of you with divine strategies to help you succeed in something sumptuous in this next season.
God just gave me the word “sumptuous” and I didn’t even know what it means. The definition is: comes at a great price, splendid, impressive, rich, luxurious, lush or magnificent.
2.) THE SECRET PLACE CHEAT CODE
Do not forget the power of the secret place…EVER. You have to be fed by the Word of the Lord to then provide others.
The Holy Spirit is there waiting for you in the early hours. Even in Jesus' life, He never forgot the power of the secret place. That is the cheat code. You cannot move forth into the new without accessing Christ repeatedly with a deep fellowship at His feet.
Jesus said, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen."
(Matthew 6:6)
This can be a location or place where you meet God in your heart without distraction. Some of you will have to wage war to even get a quiet place because the glory resides there and the enemy loves to disrupt the flow.
Fight for time. Peace and time are two of the greatest gifts God gives us.
The love of Abba is fuel for our souls. Alone time with God is something so many people desire, so remember to truly understand what an honor it is to spend time with the Father. Right now there is a sovereign stirring all around the world, so I’m encouraging you to get that alone time with the Lord no matter what it takes. The Holy Spirit is about to breathe new refreshing life on your soul.
Together let's stand in the gap this season and pray for people who don’t have freedoms. The secret place is a PRIVILEGE AND WE CAN NOT FORGET THIS!
Can you imagine how powerful it would be if we, as the corporate Body of Christ, went back to the basics and reestablished the secret place with Christ?
IT'S TIME.
3.) FISH AND BREAD…AGAIN
Finally, the significance of Jesus eating breakfast with the disciples is that He entered their world again…and reminded them about the mission ahead.
I believe the Lord was acknowledging here one final time how He understands the needs of man. He knew the guys were likely hungry and tired. So, He cooked and displayed His servanthood leadership once again.
We see another pattern with fish and bread. The Lord fed the multitudes with miracles involving fish and bread and now, once again, Christ is doing something similar. He’s reminding the disciples about feeding the multitudes from here forth. They would have known the significance of that moment.
I’d imagine that was the best breakfast of all time. The disciples were likely stunned silent as they realized Jesus was alive and sitting there among them. It’s a great reminder of how the Lord will pursue us and nothing will stop Him from coming. He leads us into places and opportunities that we could never do on our own. He also allows us, little ‘ole us, to be His co-workers!
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As we close out today, remember…
Share the Good News. Set captives free. Provide hope. Reach the wounded and heartbroken. Love like never before. Open your mouth and speak even when it’s scary. Tell your full story without shame. Raise your children up to be defenders of the faith. Teach others about Christ. Make love the center of your testimony.
Recognize Jesus in the unfamiliar. Respect and honor the privilege of spending time with the Father. Even when your eyes can't see, continue to believe that JOY IS COMING. The wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing your way!
💛YOU’RE BUILT DIFFERENT BECAUSE GOD BUILT YOU.
