What is the destiny of humanity?
I believe that religion without relationship is the biggest distortion of the image of God. I am also convinced that what drives us when no one is watching, tells us what we have a passion for. For instance, when we have a correct response to God we then, and only then, can correctly discern reality.
Adam had all his hearts desire yet something happened in Genesis three. I admit, although he had everything, those things couldn’t keep him safe from the onslaught of evil. Only having the Lord as his one desire could keep Adam for falling. This is why when relationships don’t operate appropriately, our ability to love the Lord effectively, is frustrated. Our lives are to be uniquely balanced however, we also need more passion for God.
I believe that religion without relationship is the biggest distortion of the image of God. I am also convinced that what drives us when no one is watching, tells us what we have a passion for. For instance, when we have a correct response to God we then, and only then, can correctly discern reality.
Adam had all his hearts desire yet something happened in Genesis three. I admit, although he had everything, those things couldn’t keep him safe from the onslaught of evil. Only having the Lord as his one desire could keep Adam for falling. This is why when relationships don’t operate appropriately, our ability to love the Lord effectively, is frustrated. Our lives are to be uniquely balanced however, we also need more passion for God.
We were created to reflect what the Lord is thinking and feeling, not a narrative of what culture is preaching. Simply because in the very beginning the Lord stood near by and spoke humanity into existence. He took a piece of Himself and gave it to us while we were shrouded in darkness and nothingness. Our brokenness made us extremely vulnerable to His voice. Prophetic proclamations are the activity of God, meaning, His speech is what made us good. For without His voice we are an unproductive wasteland. The good news is that the unproductive becomes productive at the sound of His speech, the uninhabited becomes habituated when He uses His voice. No one is able to contest His word over us, for He is the author of all things. For His word is a creative act shaping and molding us in His likeness. Being made in His likeness isn’t merely physical, it’s the fact that men and women can partner with God, can reason like God and speak for God.
This dimension we bare isn’t to be Lord over Him but to be both responsible and worshipful towards our relationship with Him. Valuing who He is and honoring what He has entrusted to us. This eliminates the pride of self sufficiency and causes us to focus upon the command to love our neighbor. That way we can rule effectively and rightly represent His likeness. Our dominion then becomes a partnership with the Lord, not a call to control. We in a partnership with the Lord, we reflect His divine nature by how we manage and treasure what He has given to us.
Our yearning to be like Him isn’t only that we may rule effectively but that we may love like Him and love Him well. This is the cry of the image barer. This is the cry of the soul who wants to want Him. We are called to live in His world on His terms, this the destiny of humanity. Living on God’s terms means choosing to love Him and pushing away the desire for independence. This is a fight, however I believe the inner urge to see all the Lord has done for us will overthrow the urge to disobey His voice.
Sincerely,
John Harke Team
God Wants to Partner with You
During this holiday season we are reminded of the arrival of the ultimate gift any of us will ever receive. When Jesus paid the ultimate price for our redemption and freedom, it was a present with incomparable value..
On top of being able to go to Heaven, much of the New Testament teaches us about things that we now have access to; the gift of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, total freedom, supernatural joy and strength, the list goes on and on. But it doesn’t stop there. Along with gifts, we have tremendous authority. To me this new life is kind of like the story of Rip Van Winkle. In the story, Rip decided to take a nap in the forest but he ended up sleeping for like 50 years. When he finally woke up the world as he knew it had completely changed.
During this holiday season we are reminded of the arrival of the ultimate gift any of us will ever receive. When Jesus paid the ultimate price for our redemption and freedom, it was a present with incomparable value..
On top of being able to go to Heaven, much of the New Testament teaches us about things that we now have access to; the gift of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, total freedom, supernatural joy and strength, the list goes on and on. But it doesn’t stop there. Along with gifts, we have tremendous authority. To me this new life is kind of like the story of Rip Van Winkle. In the story, Rip decided to take a nap in the forest but he ended up sleeping for like 50 years. When he finally woke up the world as he knew it had completely changed.
That’s what I believe happens when we allow ourselves to be born again. It’s like we have been asleep all this time, a slumber brought on by our sinful nature, our selfish desires, our pain and a host of other things that have fought to keep us down. Then Jesus shows up on the scene and comes into our heart, awakening us to a whole new world, the world of the believer. It doesn’t stop there.
Once we wake up from our slumber, the Holy Spirit is right there handing us our new passport (identity) a duffle bag full of supplies (the amazing blessings and gifts we have access to because of our salvation) and also a full arsenal of weapons (our authority in Christ). It’s that last part I want to discuss in the rest of this post. The letters from the Apostle Paul throughout the New Testament all speak of a tremendous authority that we now carry as believers.
But what is all this authority for? The immediate answer is, He gave you authority so that you could use it. The larger answer is this; God wants to partner with YOU.
Yes YOU.
He wants to actively work with you every single minute of every day to live and breathe with purpose. Not just any old purpose, but the one that He has set and destined for you to walk in. That's the whole point of Him giving you authority, it's proof that He wants to do something with you.
I am a person that loves to be in the middle of anything exciting.
“Oh, you’re going to Walmart at 2:30 in the morning? I’m in.”
“Oh, and it’s not the one in Florida but the one in Los Angeles? Even…better. “
So the fact that I get to partner with God is the best thing ever, I don’t want to just sit on the sidelines of what He’s up to in the world today and I know that most of you are the same way. What makes things even more wonderful is that it is His heart that you be in the middle of the action also.
Don’t believe me? Just look throughout the Old Testament when God wanted to do something in the earth. He could have just gone in and done it Himself but He didn’t. Prime example of this is when God would raise up Judges to deliver the children of Israel from the hands of their persecutors and captors. God could have totally gone in there, sent a few angels and bring them to freedom on their own but He didn’t do that. Instead He raised up a man or a woman that would partner with him so they could do it together. God wants to do the same thing with you in your life. GOD WANTS TO PARTNER WITH YOU!
When we understand this one point, it settles a lot of the weird baggage that some of us carry from some of our previous seasons about the heart of God towards us. It helps to bring clarity in the midst of the noise. With everyone yelling and shouting about what you should and should not do, about the latest and greatest revelation coming to the Body of Christ at any given second, it can be easy for many of us to get lost in it’s tidal wave and not know what to do. The fact that God wants to partner with you, gives you confidence to ask your partner, “God, what are we partnering to do?” Starting a conversation with someone that you know wants to help you and talk to you is a whole lot easier and more effective than when we assume we are being a burden or the person we are asking is somewhat indifferent to our plight or our mission. It’s a simple key but this key has the ability to set a whole lot of people free from the feeling of being stuck.
Sincerely,
John Harke Team
God is still reaching out His hand to you
The moment we become overwhelmed by what the someone thinks, is when we can easily neglect the reality of the situation. In other words, our concern should be for truth even when the truth isn’t welcomed.
Ahab’s prophet’s were just echoes, to be an echo isn’t difficult since it requires no life of prayer nor connection with the Lord. Therefore, we must understand that echoes don’t have the word of the Lord. Partly because they were under the spell of Jezebel and had lost all sensitivity to the reality of the Lord’s presence. The lesson we must learn from this narrative in 1 Kings 22 is, we can’t counsel anyone who can seduce us and that political alliances can sometimes run deeper than obeying the voice of the Lord.
The moment we become overwhelmed by what the someone thinks, is when we can easily neglect the reality of the situation. In other words, our concern should be for truth even when the truth isn’t welcomed.
Ahab’s prophet’s were just echoes, to be an echo isn’t difficult since it requires no life of prayer nor connection with the Lord. Therefore, we must understand that echoes don’t have the word of the Lord. Partly because they were under the spell of Jezebel and had lost all sensitivity to the reality of the Lord’s presence. The lesson we must learn from this narrative in 1 Kings 22 is, we can’t counsel anyone who can seduce us and that political alliances can sometimes run deeper than obeying the voice of the Lord.
It’s easy to pretend to be a prophet before a king, but it’s absolutely impossible to pretend to be a prophet before the Lord. All of us to need to be flexible in situations that happen in our lives, however, when it comes to truth there isn’t any room for flexibility.
Echoes are always culturally flexible towards current trends, while authentic prophetic voices are stern without being cruel. As we grow in humility we discern when we are to be flexible and when we are to be steadfast. When leaders, who are absolutely unwavering towards the truth, they become the type of leaders who are the most transformative. They seem to passionately delight in the Lord’s voice even if His voice doesn’t agree with their personal vision. They adjust their roles and dreams to be in perfect alignment with God’s will.
When we glance upon King Ahab we see him clinging to his own affections for personal ambition over the clear word of the Lord through one prophet. He loses focus of what truly is important which inevitably leads to his demise. Because real vision doesn’t ignore the brutal facts. All of us are in a battle, but this narrative conveys so emphatically that there are certain battles that we are not supposed to be in. When we look at the decline of Ahab, it certainly wasn’t because there was an absence of God’s voice, it was because in his pride he felt a false sense of invulnerability.
And like King Ahab, who didn’t invite the prophetic word into his chariot, when a denomination or organization doesn’t welcome the word of Lord, they begin to corporately bleed to death. I believe that what’s really being conveyed here isn’t just judgement, but the obvious evidence of the sovereignty of God in the lives of Kings, individuals, and nations. Even though it seems that people are failing to cooperate with the Lord’s loving rule, He is still reaching out His hand towards His people. Prophets still confront to transform, Evangelists still make calls to salvation, Pastors still patiently shepherd the sheep, Teachers still unveil the truth of scripture, and Apostles still create movements. One day, authenticity will drown out the echo.
Sincerely,
John Harke Team
It's Time to Partner with Your Prophetic Words
This post is for you if you have experienced any of the following:
You have received promises from God that have yet to be fulfilled
You keep receiving prophetic words but have yet to see them come to pass
You feel stuck and unsure if you are missing something when it comes to your destiny and purpose
If any of the above sounds familiar, keep reading because this may be a key to help you.
This post is for you if you have experienced any of the following:
You have received promises from God that have yet to be fulfilled
You keep receiving prophetic words but have yet to see them come to pass
You feel stuck and unsure if you are missing something when it comes to your destiny and purpose
If any of the above sounds familiar, keep reading because this may be a key to help you.
We see throughout the Bible where God has chosen to do nothing on earth unless He partners with man to help Him bring it forth. All the way back from Adam till the present day, God is constantly calling men and women to partner with Him in His purposes and plans.
You are God’s delegated authority here on Earth to do mighty things.
If you are a Christian and love God, you have the same opportunity to be able to partner with God today as all of the mighty heroes throughout scripture. What an amazing honor and privilege! What some people forget is that not only does God want to work through you to do the big things but He also wants to do the same when it comes to the personal destiny and call on your life.
God wants to partner with you for your prophetic destiny! This is where many people fall prey to a common pitfall when it comes to seeing their prophetic words come to pass. They think it’s all just going to happen without any participation on their part. They sit looking out the windows of their lives looking for the prophetic destiny delivery truck to roll up to their door and unload it into their waiting arms. It’s a beautiful, wonderful, picture but it runs contrary to how we see people operating when they receive a word from God in the Bible. In fact, more destinies have been lost from this approach to God’s voice and promises than almost any other tactic of the enemy.
An example is Moses when He heard God’s voice. He had to leave what he knew to confront Pharaoh and bring deliverance to the Israelites. Every time God came to Him, there were instructions that he needed to follow and carry out in order to partner with God for their deliverance. Now imagine if Moses didn’t respond but instead stayed home. If he heard that God wanted to bring deliverance to the nation of Israel but did nothing to partner with God on it?
In this season, God is calling His children that hear His voice to shake off this lie and step into a position where instead of asking the question “When will my prophetic word come to pass?” Will change it to a much better question of “How can I partner with God’s prophetic word over my life?” The first question positions you as simply an observer and “taker”. The second question positions you into a place of action and also inviting God to speak to you further and in greater detail about how YOU can move forward in your destiny.
The takeaway from this post is the following:
You are God’s delegated authority on Earth!
God wants to partner with YOU
Ask God “How can I respond and partner with your Word?"
Be Prepared to Listen and Be Obedient to What You Hear No Matter How Small or Seemingly Insignificant/
Sincerely,
John Harke Team
God's Love Can Cure Any Relationship
Hosea is a story of warfare and marriage, and how the Lord and His prophet navigate through that journey. God must instruct Hosea to know a love which is unfailing, just as God invites Israel to Himself, even in the horrific state of brokenness. Hosea must invite Gomer to himself as well. When love abounds, abandonment isn’t an option.
Hosea is a story of warfare and marriage, and how the Lord and His prophet navigate through that journey. God must instruct Hosea to know a love which is unfailing, just as God invites Israel to Himself, even in the horrific state of brokenness. Hosea must invite Gomer to himself as well. When love abounds, abandonment isn’t an option.
The Lord’s vision for Israel and Hosea’s vision for his wife, Gomer, outlasted the betrayal that both God and the prophet suffered. We don’t think in the terms of God agonizing over the loss of accountability among His people. For without accountability, idolatry and adultery become the behavioral pattern of a disoriented community. Society inevitably falters when our love for God and each other is absent. God and Hosea must do something shocking to cure His people who were always fluctuating in their love. Gomer and Israel’s self delusion had to be terminated. Both God and the prophet have one ambition, and that is to restore relationship with Israel and Gomer. So here the Lord speaks through Hosea.
“How can I give you up, Israel? How can I abandon you? Could I ever destroy you as I did Admah, or treat you as I did Zeboiim? My heart will not let me do it! My love for you is too strong.”
Hosea 11:8 GNTD
God doesn’t confront to prove He’s right, He confronts to penetrate the conscience. He has been deserted by the very wife He loves and in His anguish, His heart won’t let her go. So the Lord gives Hosea the rare privilege to be able to see the inner being of how He feels. This is why the Lord must insert His word in Hosea, so that the prophet doesn’t speak from anger, but from the very inner being of God. The prophet must not collapse into rage, he must be moved to relent. Hosea must become as vulnerable as the Lord is, fully engaged in Gomer’s life just has God is engaged in Israel's life.
What does this narrative tell us today? I believe it tells us how to navigate through relational warfare. Just like a marriage, when there is deep betrayal and conflict, how will we respond? Do we quickly forsake the relationships that we have formed in church? Do we look for the perfect ministry in order to grow? Or do we learn from Hosea about the power to love, the power to forgive, and the power to weep in the midst of unfaithful people. Hosea shared God’s hope for a restored people, do we? For Hosea and God the answer wasn’t to leave and remarry, the answer was to strengthen the commitment to love. Not because it was easy, but because love would win, it would hope, it would protect and it would persevere. Even in the midst of an unhealthy environment, God’s love can cure any relationship. I yearn to love like that.
Sincerely,
John Harke
