Sons & Daughters
I recently was reading this passage of Scripture and my spirit responded so strongly to the words of Jesus in this verse:
“I will not leave you as orphans” John 14:18 NASB
I knew immediately the Lord was inviting me into a now-word for the season, and asked Him to show me what was in His heart. The voice of the Father broke in so strongly.
UPROOTING THE ORPHAN
I heard the Lord say:
“An orphan spirit has infiltrated My bride. I have been at work to uproot and remove this spirit, to make way for My Spirit of Adoption to unite Me with My bride. I am removing the tendency to run, the habit to hide, and the propensity to cast blame. These reactions will no longer characterize My people.
My people will be strong and courageous. They will not bow to the fear of man, and they will not idolize the acceptance of people any longer. They will be rooted and grounded in My love, and they will know the love of their Father to such depths that no one will be able to destabilize them or their mission.”
The church has been through a season of intense transformation as we prepare for the glory that is about to be released. We have felt the stretching, as the Lord is on mission to ensure that we are able to carry the oil He has to pour out. He is expanding our hearts, our minds, and our spirits to have capacity for the more of Him.
The orphan spirit is one of the most effective limiters of our capacity to hold the fullness of the anointing and ability to flow to completion with the move of God. That is why Jesus promised that He would not leave us orphans and it is why the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Adoption has been confronting and destroying the orphan spirit in this season.
The Good Vinedresser prunes the vine, not because He is against it but because He is for it, not because He wants us to hurt us but because He wants to prevent us from hurt. He has been uprooting and removing the coping mechanisms and security blankets that got us so far but will take us no farther: the things that once were a help but now are a hindrance because they cannot take us to our fullness in Him. He has been revealing and uprooting the false sources of identity, the fear of man, fear of rejection, and fear of abandonment, the independent spirit, and the feeling of disappointed “hope” due to settling for a hope that is less than the full vision He has for us. If we are going to step into the more of this new season, we have to be free of these things.
USHERING IN ADOPTION
Romans 8:19 says that every creature in heaven and earth has been eagerly awaiting the revealing of the sons and daughters of God.
Both the angelic and demonic realms are fully aware of who we are. We, Church, are sons and daughters of God. We are not orphans. Nothing scares the devil more than a son or daughter of God coming to realize who he/she is and stepping into that identity. That is what creation is eagerly awaiting; it is waiting and watching expectantly for us to realize who we are.
In this season the Lord is announcing the revealing of His sons and daughters. The orphan spirit is vanquished by the love of the Father and replaced by the Spirit of Adoption. It is through the radical transformation from orphan to child of God that the outpouring prophesied by Joel (see Joel 2) will begin to manifest. Child of God, heaven and hell know who you are; it is time you realized it too.
I hear the voice of the Father say,
“My sons and daughters are bold as lions. My love empowers them, My love emboldens them. They know what they carry. They know the world needs the Kingdom that is inside of them, and through the firm foundation of My love for them, they will in turn love the world enough to release the Kingdom no matter the cost. They know the cost is small compared to the joy set before them. I am a good Father, and I have given My children everything they need and more. They will lack no good thing. All that I have is theirs. Theirs is the Kingdom. Rise up My children. Your time is now. The season of glory is upon you. Show the world the love of your Father. Advance My Kingdom into every sphere. I am with you, I go before you. And I bless the work of your hands.”
Jesus said, “On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20 NASB). On what day? It is the day you are no longer an orphan. If you are in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father, then you are in the Father and you are no longer an orphan. That day is now! I prophesy over you that today is the day you are freed of the orphan spirit and captured by the radical love of the Father.