“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6

Have you ever felt as if there must be something more?

One thing I learned young in my faith is that food is not the proof of appetite, but appetite is the proof of food.

Thirst is the proof that there is water to satiate it!

 If you long for more, REGISTER NOW for  the End Your Year Strong Empowerment Summit!

Stir up your appetite for more influence, more success, more provision, more capacity, more wisdom, more glory—more heaven on earth.

I’ve also learned that just because there is nutritious food, it doesn’t mean people will have an appetite for it.

Sometimes you have to acquire an appetite—or a taste—for something better.

Are you hungry for a more excellent way?

Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?

I encourage you today to check your appetites.

If you have a certain appetite but don’t see the thing you hunger for, it is there somewhere.

By virtue of the fact you feel like there is something more, there is something more!

These are the promptings you must be especially mindful of.

Why?

Because these longings are not generated by your spirit, but by the Spirit of God when He tries to tell you it’s time to go to the next level.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
Romans 8:16-17

This is very important because the Holy Spirit is revealing to you who you are.

You are sons and daughters of the King of kings. You deserve to be treated with respect and honor.

You deserve to live in the best places and have the best things. This is why you have the tastes that you have—and yes the appetites.

But you’ve learned to compromise your tastes.

You’ve been told you can’t have certain things…that you don’t deserve these things or they’re too expensive.

You’ve compromised the desires God has placed in you.

However, you have extravagant taste for a reason. It’s because it’s part of your inheritance.

What you crave is your inheritance. 

You have extravagant tastes that are going to be restored so that your inheritance can be revealed to you.

I decree and declare that you are going to work in the best positions in your industry…

I decree and declare that your gifts are going to be magnified and glorified—you’re going to be aglow with God’s glory and His reputation is going to be aglow in you!

Expand your capacity to see what’s possible for you.

Get a vision for who you are, what you’re capable of, and all that you’ve inherited in Christ.

“Be strengthened with all his glorious power…He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”
Colossians 1:11-12 NLT

You have an inheritance based on the level of your revelation.

This is why it’s so important to put yourself in places where you can receive prophetic downloads and the impartations that come with being in anointed atmospheres—environments that expand and strengthen your capacity to pull on heaven.

What are you demanding based on your appetite? Your appetite primes the pump so you can make the withdrawals you need to create the increase you long for—and that God longs for you. (See Psalm 115:14.)

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us.”
Deuteronomy 29:29

Put yourself in places where things are being revealed!

This is a season not just for greater information, but for deeper revelation. God wants to reveal principles hidden in His Word. He wants to reveal His plan to you and then reveal you to you as well.

We have yet so much potential sitting on the inside of us hidden in the obscurity of ignorance—and so I say, “Let there be light!”

Ignorance is the absence of light.

Whenever you  have light you have insight and wisdom.

God is able to reveal things that are there, but you must be able to see it or perceive it.

I decree and declare that the eyes of your understanding are being enlightened right now…

I decree and declare that God is going to enlarge your territory and give you capacity to receive revelation!

“Deep calls to deep.”
Psalm 42:7 NIV

In this season, take note of what you’re hungering for.

Are you longing for the deeper things of God? Do you have an appetite for greater revelation and influence on behalf of the Kingdom?

Are you thirsty for more righteousness—for more moves of the Spirit—for more revival?

Then stir up your appetite!

“Awake, O sleeper…
    and Christ will give you light.”
Ephesians 5:14 NLT

Learn to crave the things that will strengthen you.

Crave the things that will equip you to create the changes you long to see in your life and in the world around you. 

Crave light, wisdom, and revelation. 

Stir up your hunger to join me November 10-12 so you can position yourself to receive the revelation that will slake your thirst and empower you to walk in the greater things you’ve longed for.

“Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.”
Psalm 23:4 AMP

If you listened to this past week’s 4 Points Broadcast, you would have heard me talk about shadows.

Yesterday it was estimated that more than 220 million experienced the greatest shadow cast across the United States since February 26, 1979.

Some experienced a “sunless valley” for more than two and half minutes…yet the sun was always there!

 “The sun of what is right and good will rise with healing in its wings.”
Malachi 4:2 NLV

A shadow is not the result of an absence of light, but of something blocking the light.

In fact, the darker the shadow, the brighter the source of light! This is why you only see a faint shadow cast by the light of the moon at night.

Of course, even the light of the moon is only a reflection of the sun’s powerful light!

What are the things in your life keeping you from reflecting God’s healing light?

This week I want to talk to you about getting out of your own way to receiving all that God has for you.

Don’t get caught boxing your own shadow when God is right there shining everything you need upon your life!

Learn how you can take advantage of God’s best for you.

This is a momentous year marked by unprecedented events.

We will be breaking down these great shifts at this year’s End Your Year Strong Empowerment Summit. Don’t miss this opportunity to reset, realign, and redirect your life!

Register NOW for the Diamond Level VIP package!

Take a few moments today to acknowledge how God has been moving both in the world and in your life. Where do you need to make adjustments or activate your potential?

Where do you need to take action, speak out, be the advocate, or lead the change God has put on your heart?

Where is God shining His light in the world around you?

“But the light makes all things easy to see.”
Ephesians 5:13 NCV

Where do you need to step out from the shadows and allow God’s light to shine through you?

Or do you need to step out of your own way so that you are not blocking His light—His wisdom, knowledge, truth, and love—from flooding your life?

What is keeping you from walking in greater victory or being the change agent the world needs in this season?

“Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love!”
Romans 8:38 NLT

If you’re standing before God, and God is light, there is nothing that can hinder that light from shining in your life—there is absolutely nothing that can separate you from that love!

So that shadow is not coming from Satan, because nothing can stand between you and God.

Think about it…what is it that causes there to be a shadow? A shadow, like a reflection, cannot exist without a source of light.

When do you have a shadow?

You have a shadow when there is a blocking agent standing before a stream of light.  

If you’re standing before a stream of light who happens to be God—for God is light—guess where the shadow is coming from.

It’s coming from you! That’s your shadow!

Most of the time those aren’t demons you’re fighting against, but your own shadow. You’re shadow boxing.

Paul said, 

“I do not flail around like one beating the air [just shadow boxing].”
1 Corinthians 9:26 AMP

God wants to deal with those areas, those shadows—those dark areas of your life. He wants you to grow up and mature so you can run to win the race He sets before you.

“But [like a boxer]” Paul wrote, “I strictly discipline my body…so that after I have preached [the gospel] to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified [as unfit for service]” (1 Corinthians 9:27 AMP).

Discipline is a process.

Maturing spiritually is a process. As God labors to strengthen you little by little, you must learn to trust the work God is doing as the “author and finisher of your faith.” (See Hebrews 12:2.)

This is why I’ve been systematically teaching on the steps and stages of spiritual maturation. This week we will dig even deeper so you can go exponentally farther in God.

Watch the latest 4 Points Broadcast!

Don’t eclipse your potential because of ignorance, fear, stubbornness, doubt, pride, or compromise. 

Open your eyes and see all that God is calling you into. Embrace the fullness of the grace He has bestowed and the hope of glory He has instilled in you.

May your whole being be filled with His wondrous light! 

“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!”
Matthew 6:22-23 MSG

“All who claim me as their God will come, for I have made them for my glory; I created them.” 
Isaiah 43:7 TLB

You are a diamond in the rough destined to radiate God’s glory.

I want to help you rise up out of obscurity and put your true worth on display.

I encourage you to Register NOW for the End Your Year Strong Empowerment Summit where you will learn destiny-defining keys to honing and refining your hidden brilliance!

Get your Diamond Level VIP package NOW!

With your Diamond Level registration of only $129, you will enjoy preferred seating, closed leadership sessions, and a special VIP bundle.

Don’t miss this opportunity to receive the revelation and impartation that could change the trajectory of your life!

Reset, refresh, refuel, and dare to dream again!

This level of revelatory teaching, prophetic activation, leadership empowerment, and dynamic networking is not offered in one 3-day event anywhere else!

If you want more of God—and more of His best for your life—this is the one event you won’t want to miss.

And as you prepare to receive more of God’s glory, don’t forget to join me this Thursday for the 4 Points Broadcast!

The greatest enemy of your future is ignorance.

If you’ve heard me teach, you’ve heard me ask, “What one thing can you change that will change everything?”

You can change your mind.

You are always one decision away from living the life of your dreams.

The moment you change your mind—the moment you make a decision—your destiny alters.

In our last 4 Points Broadcast, we explored the stage of spiritual maturation that is characterized by structure, discipline, and pressure.

This is the téknon stage (between the ages of 13 and 20) represented by a period of divine mentorship. This is a critical time during which you are groomed as the salt and light you are called to be.

God will place tutors and governors in your life to mature you both intellectually and morally. 

This is a time of character development. It is a time of testing; a period of time when God begins to place pressure on you.

You will undergo a chipping away of your tendencies to be rebellious, and to exert your will above God’s will because of the realization that you have a will of your own.

“Yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Luke 22:42 NIV

In this stage, because you are able to dress and care for yourself, you no longer want to be told what to do. You may begin to develop some rough edges that need to be smoothed.

The chipping away is not meant to hurt you, but to enhance the radiance of God’s glory as it shines through you.

You are a diamond in the rough.  

Just like diamond cutters chip away at a rough diamond so more light can be reflected through it, the chipping away in your life will allow God’s glory to shine even more radiantly and brilliantly through you.

When the dirty places are polished away and the rough edges are smoothed, your true worth and brilliance will emerge.

This is a stage when God will flood your life with His glory.

People and circumstances are brought to your life not to rub you the wrong way, but to polish you and rub you the right way.

You will experience circumstances socially, emotionally, spiritually, and professionally that will refine you; you will go from being a diamond in the rough to becoming a brilliant force for good.

Rather than being easily influenced, you will become an influencer. This is the stage when a girl becomes a lady and a boy becomes a gentlemen. 

You are made beautiful and strong because of intense heat and pressure.

A diamond is one of the hardest known natural materials. Over years it begins to crystallize. What was once chalky coal buried in obscure darkness becomes crystallized carbon that we call “diamond.”

A diamond is not made upon the surface of the earth; it is made hundreds of miles beneath layers of the earth’s mantle. Deep within volcanic fissures is where a diamond is formed.

This is what makes a diamond rare and valuable. It is brought to the surface with violent, magma force!

“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
Matthew 11:12

As it is with a diamond, so it is with you.

Life’s upheavals indicate God bringing forth your true brilliance, worth, and value hidden deep beneath the surface of who you are.

It is in the heat inherent in your hardship and the pressure inherent in your trials—in those tight places—you’ll discover that your true worth emerges.

Once you get this revelation, you will no longer remain hardened by hardship or bitter from brokenness.

It is from those places that you are truly transformed and that God causes you to rise up out of obscurity—to break free from the clutter of the common—and live into the distinctive and uncommon person of immense worth He created you to be.

And like a diamond exquisitely set, the world will at last witness your divine brilliance—because God Himself will put it on display!

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
1 John 3:2

One of the key themes of the End Your Year Strong Empowerment Summit is building your capacity to fulfill your potential as a child of God.

It is one thing to grow in the knowledge of Christ—but quite another to grow in the knowledge of all you are capable of in Him.

John wrote that we would become like Him (see 1 John 3:2). Paul told us we are being transformed into His image (see 2 Cor. 3:18). Jesus said we would do even greater things than He did (see John 14:12).

Spiritual maturation requires a capacity building process.

Why is building capacity so important? 

Because your potential is only limited by your capacity to access it… 

God wants you to mature spiritually so you can maximize your potential to fulfill your purpose and do even greater works than Jesus did.

Listen to the 4 Points Broadcast replay to learn about the 6th Stage of Spiritual Maturation.

At each stage of spiritual maturation, there is a dimension of authority that is released to you.

God will give you access to limited amounts of spiritual power to see what you will do and whether He can trust you.

In other words, any level of authority you are exposed to in the maturation process is probationary. 

The stage we are studying now is called téknon: “those souls who have,” according to Strong’s Concordance, “been nurtured and molded by wisdom.”

This stage places you in the prophetic process we call “mentorship.”

Mentorship simply means you posture yourself as a disciple or as a protege of someone who acts as your guide, advisor, or counselor. 

This individual—whether a teacher, tutor, mentor, or spiritual leader—is assigned to nurturing and molding you in wisdom.

In this stage of spiritual maturation, God is posturing you to enter a position where the world will recognize you as a son of God.

“Everything that has been made in the world is waiting for the day when God will make His sons known.”
Romans 8:19 NLV

Téknon infers a reciprocal relationship between someone you’re calling a “mother” or “father” or someone who is mentoring you.

You posture yourself as a pupil or disciple of a teacher or mentor whose objective is to coach, counsel, and cultivate your gifts and talents; they provide the discipline necessary for you to steward and sustain those gifts and talents for the glory of God.

In the first chapter of Jeremiah, we see where he is first introduced to his purpose: “Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

Purpose is different from destiny.

Purpose is determined by God, but must be discerned by you; it never changes.

However, your destiny is determined by you; it is attached to the decisions you make. The moment a decision is made, your destiny is altered. 

This is why you’ve often heard me say, 

“You are always one decision away from living the life of your dreams.” 

Your purpose dictates your relationships and timing.

If you don’t know your purpose, you’ll mishandle your relationships and misinterpret the timing of the Lord.

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Purpose is attached to a divine time table.

This is why Israel had the sons of Issachar to advise them: they had an “understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

God will never take your decision-making ability or freedom of choice from you. 

But what He will do is give you a mentor to help you build your capacity by developing your character.

And when He develops your character, that character begins to influence the decisions you make.

Your core values will be tested…but they will ultimately determine what choices you make that will define your destiny.

Your destiny should be in alignment with God’s promises. 

It’s not an issue of whether or not you’ll climb the ladder of success, but whether you’ll compromise your Christian values to get there.

Most people sacrifice their future success for immediate gratification.

I would rather sacrifice who I am now—yield it to who I’m going to be—rather than sacrifice who I’m going to be because I don’t value the process that I’m currently in. 

Any adjustment or realignment will feel uncomfortable.

A mentor is anointed by God to cause you to readjust or realign to God’s best—to raise the bar in order to stretch your capacity.

Your mentor is responsible for putting you in a capacity building process by raising the bar just beyond your reach.

A mentor who doesn’t raise the bar just beyond what you are comfortable with doesn’t love you; they’re telling you they don’t believe you have the potential or capacity for more. 

A mentor will not allow you to be comfortable with yesterday’s successes. 

When you get to this téknon stage, your vision is going to be more important than your resume.

What do you have the potential to do? Who does God say you’re going to be?

This process is not about who you were yesterday or who you are today, but who you have the potential to become. 

“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:14

But just because you have the potential doesn’t mean you have the capacity to fulfill it.

Building capacity requires a degree of discomfort. It requires you to leave your comfort zone—to take risks and stretch yourself. 

There will be discomfort in this process. Look at Jacob; he wrestled with God and as a result, would never walk the same again…

“A man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.”
Genesis 32:24-25 NLT

God is about to change the way you walk.

He is going to upgrade your walk so you no longer walk according to your carnal nature, but “walk habitually in the Spirit…responsive to His guidance” (Galatians 5:16 AMP).

Find a mentor who will help you elevate your capacity to make the most of your potential, beginning with the Holy Spirit—and then be responsive to that guidance! 

“The one who serves you best will be your leader.”
Luke 22:26 TLB

The lessons Jesus taught us about life in the Kingdom turned the world upside down…

He told us, “Those who are last will be first and the first will be last” (Matt 20:16 NLV)—“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it” (Luke 9:24 NIV)—and “If you give, you will get” (Luke 6:38 TLB).

Understanding the Kingdom requires some major paradigm shifts.

This is why attending Kingdom School of Ministry is so important.

Next week we will be immersing ourselves in the dynamics of practically and powerfully doing life in the Kingdom—equipping you to maximize your leadership potential so you can impact the world for Christ.

It’s not too late to join us for five intensive days that will elevate your life and your capacity to lead beyond what you can imagine.

Shift your paradigm of what’s possible at Kingdom School of Ministry.

Become the influencer you’ve always dreamed of. Rise up and take your place in leading change by joining other world changers July 30 – August 5.

I want to empower you to turn your world upside down with the power and authority you have in Christ.

And it all begins with understanding the protocols of submission.

“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:43-45 ESV

Probably more than any other leadership lesson Jesus came to teach His disciples was how to lay down one’s life for the benefit of others and serve with selfless humility.

This is not how the world understands the role of a leader, but it is the secret to walking in divine power and authority!

“The kings and great men of the earth lord it over the people; but among you it is different. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be greatest of all must be the slave of all.”
Mark 10:42-44 TLB

Do you want to be great? Learn to serve.

How can you become a great servant? Learn to submit.

There is divine power at work in not only the act of, but more importantly, the attitude of submission. It is an attitude of the heart that brings glory to God.

“Honor Christ by submitting to each other.”
Ephesians 5:21 TLB

Another translation states, “submitting to one another in the fear of God” (NKJV).

Interestingly, there is only one other place in the New Testament where Paul mentions being motivated by “the fear of God”…and it is in regards to living a life set apart for His purpose:

“Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness [living a consecrated life—a life set apart for God’s purpose] in the fear of God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 AMP

We know that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (See Psalm 111:10)—but we don’t often consider that fearing God requires submission; a heart submitted to both God and man.

It is out of the fear of God we honor and submit to one another. In his first letter, Peter instructed believers to “honor all people…Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17).

The other place we read about fearing God is in Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

“Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.”
Colossians 3:22 NKJV

Submission is an attitude of heart that honors God.

If you’re not submitted to those both above and around you, you’re not submitted to God. Plain and simple.

Check your heart.

A submitted heart is a servant’s heart.

In the 4 Points Broadcast, I outlined the power and authority available to those who successfully embrace the protocols of submission.

It is a destiny-defining stage in the maturation process that will open you up to your own greatness and enable you to fulfill your potential as an effective servant leader.

God is calling each of us to grow up and mature as His servant leaders.

If you can’t serve, how can you lead?

If you can’t lead through service, how can you demonstrate God’s love? And if you’re not demonstrating love, how can you call yourself a friend of God?

Faith works through acts of love (see Galatians 5:6 and James 2:14-26)—likewise does true leadership work through acts of service.

If you want to know if you’re growing as a servant leader, check your motives.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
Philippians 2:3 NIV

Becoming the kind of servant leader God can use on behalf of the Kingdom will require you to mature spiritually.

What will your spiritual legacy look like?

Invest in your spiritual growth and leadership greatness by expanding your capacity to serve.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others.”
Matthew 20:26 NLT

“The fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others].”
Galatians 5:22 AMP

“He redeemed us so that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:14 CEB

In recent weeks, we’ve been learning about the process of spiritual maturation and why it’s important.

As an athlete submits to the discipline of a coach, so should we submit ourselves to the disciplines of spiritual maturity.

Paul wrote about this very thing in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:27

Your gifts may take you to the head of the line, but only your character will keep you there.

And it is submitting to discipline that will develop your character. It requires the submission of your mind, will, and emotions to a higher authority.

But we’re not talking about someone being fearful:

We’re talking about moving from fear to focus.

Focus requires discipline. It requires you to take responsibility for your choices and have the personal integrity to own the outcomes that result.

It is the process that refines and matures you in preparation for greater power.

Learn more this Thursday at 7pm during our next LIVE 4 Points Broadcast!

The quality of your character will determine not only how far you go in life—but the level of authority and influence you will be able to exercise.

This is why submission has nothing to do with what you have to lose, but everything to do with what you have to gain; it is not about inferiority but about superiority.

When you begin to mature, you begin to take your personal power back.

It is when you begin to mature spiritually that you learn to stop blaming the devil.

You learn that you always have options. You always have the power to choose.

Focus is not only your ability to choose what you will pay attention to—but also how you will act as well as react to circumstances regardless of how you feel.

It’s the ability to trust God in the process of your spiritual development.

Focus is a discipline that requires faith.

Faith isn’t always a matter of “letting go and letting God,” but the character-refining practice of self-discipline.

To be faithful is to exercise self-control in all things, to run your race in order to win it (see 1 Cor. 9:25, 24), to press toward that high mark (see Phil. 3:14).

“So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control.”
1 Corinthians 9:26-27

Great men and women of God don’t make excuses. They don’t blame their circumstances or find fault with other people. They own every outcome.

Think of David as he was called out for his sin with Bathsheba. He didn’t blame her for seducing him, or that he was lonely and needed companionship, he took full ownership.

“Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
    and your judgment against me is just.”
Psalm 51:4 NLT

He admitted that he had willed to do whatever he had done.

You must come to a place where you understand that most things have happened to you because you willed it—and is precisely why…

You must understand the power of your will and how to make it submit to your greater purpose!

You always have a choice—you are always in control of your decisions.

It is up to you, through prayer, to submit your will to God’s greater purpose just as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“Yet not my will, but Yours be done.”
Luke 22:42 NIV

If you fail to embrace the protocol of submission, you sabotage your own greatness and forfeit your future authority, wealth, influence, and prosperity.

Protocol is the process that brings excellence into your life and allows you to operate in an elevated mental space for higher levels of performance.

Protocol elevates you into the realm of greatness, influence, and authority.

The protocol of submission requires the discipline of spirit, the subjection of will, and the refinement of character.

If you jump over this stage, or resist or walk away from it, you’ll sabotage your success.

God wants to bring you through the maturation process so that you can have full access to your inheritance, including all of the blessings of Abraham that were obtained through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

I release the blessing of Abraham and decree its coming upon your life!

The blessing of Abraham includes many things—from intellectual property to an influential name to extraordinary favor and wisdom to unparalleled performance and networks to scandalous wealth—all of which you can learn more about by listening here.

But when it comes to your inheritance, it’s not only the blessings of Abraham but also dominion over a variety of kingdoms, systems, and institutions within the realm we call earth.

“Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms. You will pull up and tear down, destroy and overthrow, build up and plant.”
Jeremiah 1:10 NCV

That means you are in a position to influence every system and institution from education to defense to government to health to media and entertainment—everything having to do with culture, society, and what defines a nation.

I pray you will not abort this stage, because if you do, you will never have access to the new realms of influence and blessing God is moving you into…

And you will never become the history maker the world needs you to be.

“May God Almighty bless you,
And make you fruitful and multiply you,
That you may be an assembly of peoples;
And give you the blessing of Abraham,
To you and your descendants with you,
That you may inherit the land
In which you are a stranger,
Which God gave to Abraham.”
Genesis 28:3-4 NKJV

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
1 Corinthians 13:11

Have you ever paused to consider what childish things you may need to be “putting away”?

In the Scripture above, Paul is saying that he was able to put aside, or lay aside—or throw away—his childish scripts so that God could replace them with adult strategies.

 There are some things you need pray away, but most things you need to put away.

A lot of times we hold on to things because we don’t realize there is something better. 

But if you hold on to the good, the better will never come—and if you hold on to the better, the best will never come!

Learn how to access God’s best for you at this year’s End Your Year Strong Empowerment Summit!

If you want the best life has to offer, you must learn how to bring the best out of yourself.

You must be willing to invest in yourself as much as you expect others to invest in you.

Learn how you can radically level up your life simply by upgrading your strategies.

This is a season of strategy.

As I’ve begun to consecrate myself for what God is doing in this season, I’m recognizing how many people are not successful because they lack strategy.

This is primarily why I’ve been teaching on the 8 Stages of Spiritual Maturation throughout the last many weeks of our 4 Points Broadcast.

If we are to walk in the realms of power and authority God intended, we must embrace the process of spiritual maturation.

Spiritual maturation is simply the process of upgrading your strategies.

As I travel throughout the world and meet people from all walks of life—from different cultures and traditions—I’ve come to discover that people don’t struggle because they lack talent, opportunity, or resources, but because they lack strategy.

This is a season I profoundly feel that God is wanting His people to upgrade their strategies as a corporate Body and as individuals.

To upgrade your life, you must upgrade your strategies.

I decree that in this season you are going to willingly let go of your childhood scripts.

I decree and declare as you trust God in this process, you are going to be endowed with life-upgrading, history-making strategies!

You’re going to have upgraded health strategies, relationship strategies, financial strategies, marriage strategies, business strategies, and domestic strategies…

I decree and declare you are coming into a season of unprecedented strategy!

When we talk about where we are now in terms of humanity and as the Body of Christ…it is incumbent upon us as God’s people to grow up and mature spiritually.

The world is anxiously waiting for the Church to matriculate through the maturation process.

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.”
Romans 8:19 NIV

In other words, all of the earth is standing on its tippy toes waiting for the Church to finally figure out who she is—to come of age and embrace her true identity.

The Church is lacking the adult strategies she needs because she is suffering from an identity crisis!

Let me ask you today: Do you really know who you are and all that you are capable of?

Are you able to put away your childish scripts in order to receive heaven’s world-changing strategies?

Again, there are some things you must pray aside, and others you must put aside.

In our last 4 Points Broadcast, we focused on this critical stage of spiritual maturation: Where you must identify the childish scripts that are holding you back and actively pursue the adult strategies you need to be and experience God’s best.

This is the 5th Stage of the 8 Stages of Spiritual Maturation.

It is represented by the stage of a child’s development who is between the ages of 7 and 12, and who is being disciplined in order to mature.

At this stage parents begin to load in responsibilities:

You’re going to clean your room…

You’re going to read…

You’re not going to talk that way…

This is the stage where discipline is important. Therefore, individuals at this stage will need to be in a position of submission.

This is the stage that will teach you discipline of mind, refinement of temperament, and control over your emotions by doing what you are told without grumbling and complaining.

You cannot do whatever you want to do if you’re going to be used by God. This is why discipline is important.

In this stage you learn the principles of “cause and effect” and “trial and error”—that your actions have consequences.

You cannot jump over this stage. If you try to bypass this critical stage, you will sabotage and abort your greatness!

Submission has nothing to do with an activity; it has to do with an attitude. 

Discipline will require you to submit your desires, will, and emotions to authority.

But remember this, submission is attached to succession.

Submission has two expressions:

         1) The person in authority to whom an individual is submitted.

         2) The person who is submitting to the one who is in authority.

For the one in authority, it is imperative to understand that “to whom much is given, much is required.”

So the person who is in authority has the responsibility to make sure they get before God to deal with their insecurities.

The number one responsibility of a leader is to raise other leaders.

It is possible that someone more talented, more gifted, or more powerful might be called to submit to you.

An insecure leader, however, will oppress, suppress, or even abuse such a person for fear that individual will take their place.

In the realm of the spirit it is impossible for someone to take your place.

That place where you’ve been positioned can only recognize your voice print. Furthermore, the realm of authority has enough room for every single person!

The world is suffering from a tremendous leadership void. There is a scarcity of authentic, mature leaders who are disciplined in the protocols of submission.

You must recognize the role you are playing in relation to those you have been placed in authority over and to those under whose authority you are submitted.

It is a matter of character development.

This kind of character development—that will cause you to not only be positioned in places of great influence and affluence, but sustained there and remembered for generations—will require you to master your emotions.

It’s not about your feelings, it’s about your mindset.

I declare this is the last day you will take things personally. Put away those childish scripts and immature responses and learn to tap into the power God has given you over your mind, will, and emotions. 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

If you weren’t able to tune into this particular 4 Points Broadcast, I believe it will create a phenomenal shift in your life.

Click here for the replay and let me know how you are activating these principles and the results you’re seeing in your life!

“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”
Luke 2:40

If you missed last Thursday’s 4 Points Broadcast, you will want to go listen to it on demand now!

We took another deep dive into our study of the “Eight Stages of Spiritual Maturation”—excavating fundamental keys to growing up spiritually and accessing greater levels of spiritual authority.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in an old pattern or that you’re missing out on something greater, you need to listen to this!

The 3^rd Stage of spiritual development is where your character is formed and you are positioned to grow into the fullness of your identity.

You will need to embrace the power principles and success strategies offered at this stage if you are to walk in the authority necessary for you to fulfill your assignment.

Learn how you can take full advantage of the maturation process.

At each stage of development, there are specific keys you must understand—foundational truths you must master—that will propel you forward and launch you into your Kingdom destiny.

If you want to inherit all things that pertain to life and godliness, you must grow in the knowledge of God…

“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him.”
2 Peter 1:3

Because as you grow in the knowledge of God, you will grow in grace—and it is only by God’s grace you are able to access all of the benefits and promises available to you in Christ!

In our last broadcast, we talked about this critical stage of growing up spiritually. This is where we really unpack what it means to develop in the area of grace.

There is so much we unlock in this session, that I want you to go now and listen to the replay!

I don’t want you to miss any of these deep truths that I know will dramatically accelerate your growth.

Click the image below or download the app so you can listen wherever you are or on the go.

“Through these promises you can have God’s own life in you now!”
2 Peter 1:4 NLV