Ask anyone in my family, what to get me for Christmas and they can tell you, “A book!” And they’re right. I love books. In fact my husband was asking me the other day, what to get me for my birthday and he said, “And don’t tell me another book!” To which I replied, “Ok, how about a trip to Israel!” We’ll see how that pans out. But I wanted to share a few thoughts from a book that I got for Christmas; Called to Reign, Living and Loving From a Place of Rest by Leif Hetland. I love Leif’s heart for the Kingdom. The message that he shares all over the world is the truth that in Christ we are not orphans in this world, but sons of God, deeply loved and securely positioned in Christ.
Leif uses a powerful illustration of three chairs that I would like to share with you. He shares an experience of ministering at a church. The presence of God was strong and healing began to take place. On the drive home he was thinking, “Wow, that was powerful this morning. Leif, you were really anointed.” But in a few moments, he felt as if the presence had lifted. He was scheduled to return that evening and was told that many people had heard what had happened and were bringing others with great need, much like the story in Luke 5:18-25 of the friends bringing the paralyzed man to Jesus. The faith level of the church had gone up, but he just felt overwhelmed by the pressure. He began to realize that the moment he started to think about what he had done instead of what Jesus had done, he moved out of the place of anointing and now felt like it was him against the giants. This was the starting point for illustration of the three chairs.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
(Philippians 4:13, BSB)
Chair 1 is a beautiful place to be. Those who live from that place are rooted in the spirit of sonship. It is a place of experiencing God’s pleasure without ever having to perform. In Chair 1, you live from a place of total acceptance and rest. You can hear the Father’s voice as a son or daughter and trust that He is able to guide you. You know who you are and then you live from your inheritance and walk out your destiny. You can live as a river overflowing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit (Romans 14:17). You aren’t just trying to get from earth to heaven but also want to bring heaven to earth.
Chair 2 is the kingdom of self. You have a tendency to live for God rather than living from God because you have become rooted in the orphan spirit rather than a spirit of sonship. We have all been Chair 2 Christians at times, and we can easily slip from Chair 1 to Chair 2 thinking at any point in our lives. You are always under pressure to perform because it’s what you do that makes you who you are. Instead of confidently hearing God’s voice, you try to discern His will while fearing you might be misled by the self or the devil. Chair 2 believers are trying to believe the right way in order to behave the right way in order to belong. You’re trying to get to heaven rather than trying to bring heaven to earth. Everything in Chair 2 is rooted in fear even when it is disguised in the vocabulary of love.
Chair 3 This is the place of living in the world system apart from Jesus, outside of the kingdom of God. Every one of these people is looking for love, security, value, significance, and purpose; it’s in our DNA as human beings. But they aren’t able to find these things, whether they are looking in religion, money, accomplishments, or anything else. Whatever people serve, that’s what they worship.
Such a clear and powerful illustration! What chair are you living from most of the time?
Steps in Pursuit
- The church has the challenging role of representing Jesus to the world. Which chair is the local body of Christ that you are connected with teaching from? An orphan spirit or from the spirit of sonship? One way to evaluate the answer to that question is how you feel when you are there. Do you leave feeling more connected to God and others in loving acceptance? Or do you feel guilty or obligated that you haven’t performed well for God? Pray for the local body of Christ that we will accurately reflect the light and love of Jesus to a desperate world that doesn’t need to remain enslaved to a religious system.
- It is easy to fall into the ditch on either side of the road: thinking too highly of ourselves or thinking too little of ourselves. Pride and Shame often reflect the two-sided coin of insecurity. Prayerfully meditate on Ephesians 3:17-19 and ask Father to root you in the loving security of Jesus.
- We have a beautiful family that we are a part of in Christ. Ask Father to teach you how to reign from a place of loving rest.
Life in the resting place of God- and as a resting place for God, changes everything.
Continue the Pursuit,
Denise
