If we were all just more cognizant of who we are, and aware of who we are – what our true identity is – and just enjoyed being us, I think we would find a lot of change begin to take place around us because of our light and joy. We leave a residue of that DNA and that light wherever we go. Whenever we speak and act in a place, that gets recorded within the fabric of the atoms, molecules and particles of that place; so when we walk in that place we leave a deposit of ourselves; that light does continue. So let’s make sure we are not miserable and leaving a miserable deposit in the place we have been in: moaning, complaining and grumbling over the fact that it isn’t as we want it to be. Let’s be positive, leave a deposit of activity in the realm of the spirit in that place which will continue until it has finished bringing about change and transformation.
I think that is the key. Jesus said “If you go into a place and they don’t receive you, shake the dust off your feet and leave.” People think that is so negative! And it wasn’t. That was such a positive statement. Because the dust was the rabbi’s dust, reflecting the rabbi’s teaching that they had received and were living. Therefore by shaking that dust off they were leaving a deposit of the truth and the life and the light in that place; so even though they might have rejected Jesus at that moment, they had a possibility of accepting and engaging because you’ve left a positive deposit, not “let’s bring down fire out of heaven and burn up that village.”
Some of them didn’t yet get it because they didn’t get the love dimension yet; and I think Jesus had to show them by his attitude even by being punished, being whipped and beaten and having a crown of thorns and all the terrible things that he went through getting to the cross, let alone on the cross itself. His response was still “Father, forgive them.” His response was still “look after my mum.” He was still thinking of others, he was still thinking about the world even while he was going through those things; and that’s what he taught his disciples. So when they then went through martyrdom or persecution – which he warned them was likely to happen in the next generation; both the religious and the political spirit being against them (both Israel and Rome) – they could do so with a smile. And even when they were crucified upside down, as some of them were, they still rejoiced because they saw it as an honour
We are leaving deposits of light and love and truth wherever we go. If people have found some joy or happiness in being around us because we weren’t miserable and we weren’t complaining and grumbling about the weather and everything else, but we were rejoicing and enjoying and always had something to be thankful for and grateful about, that leaves a deposit of life; and that will bring about change, even after we have left and are no longer there, because we have been there.
What have we left? It’s a good thing to think about. Wherever we have been in the last week, whether it be at work or in the supermarket or in the garden or in meeting people or out having fun or having a meal in a restaurant, did we leave a good deposit? Did we leave a good vibe, a good atmosphere – a rejoicing, peaceful atmosphere – or did we moan and complain and oh, the queue’s too long and we’re getting angry and annoyed and frustrated and all that? What have we left? What deposit have we left wherever we have been, and wherever we are going?
Think about it this week. Wherever you are going this week, whatever you are doing this week, what deposit of light are we leaving behind, of peace, of joy, in the fabric of the very place we have been to bring about that place being transformed? Or the people who are going to come into that place feel and sense something good about it because they pick up the light and that peace that we left there?
It is a good thing to think about isn’t it? Am I leaving rest and joy, and peace and love wherever I’m going? If people see you enjoying your grandchildren and having fun, you’ll leave that deposit with them and with where you’ve been enjoying them; that memory is there in that fabric of that place. It will be a joyful, happy place and other people who come there can still feel and sense it.
Russian scientists, recording light from our very DNA, are still recording it after we left1. I don’t know how they record it after we left, but they have obviously found a way of doing it. But actually it’s more than that! We are leaving more than just residual light, we are leaving a deposit of who we are in that place, and I think that’s what the world needs.
Am I leaving a deposit of rest and joy, peace and love wherever I go?
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*.
Thank you!
Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.
God desires that we live in two realms simultaneously, just as Jesus did,
functioning in both earthly and heavenly realms.
[“I am reading from my book INTO THE DARK CLOUD, in which I describe the process I went through to enable that to begin to happen in my life . I hope it will encourage you to seek God for your own dark cloud experience.”]
I counsel you to open your heart and embrace the fire. The purpose of the fire is not to harm us, but to change and transform us: we need to be willing to embrace both the water and the fire. Some of us will experience different processes of transformation. If you go through a water transformation without needing the fire, so much the better. That was not my experience. I had to go through both water and fire, and the fire was instrumental in bringing about transformation in me.
The places of restriction in our lives are where preparation and transformation occur. Sometimes God tells us that in this season everything has to stop: our busy-ness and constant activity can hinder intimacy with Him. We are so focused on doing, doing, doing, that we do not take the time to simply be.
It is in those moments of being that God has the opportunity to speak to us, challenge us, and bring about change.
We can be so consumed with our activities that we never truly hear God’s voice. We may continue doing things because we think we are doing what God wants, but if we take time to listen, He is telling us to stop and move on
Who am I, if I am not doing any of the things I believe God wants me to do?
Do I still have value and worth?
Do I feel the same about myself, when I am not actively engaged, or when I am not ‘doing’ everything?
These are the questions God starts to raise when He places us in restrictive situations or dark clouds. It is in those moments that we have the time to reflect. Sometimes these seasons will feel like a dark night of the soul
because they involve intense experiences. That is why many people resist or fight against them: they do not understand what God is seeking to accomplish. They try to escape or avoid the process instead of embracing it.
I was like that. I fought it. At least, I certainly tried – for six weeks, and it was a miserable time.
I counsel you to open your heart and embrace the fire.
Key takeaway
Simply be. It is in those moments of being that God has the opportunity to speak to us, challenge us, and bring about change.
This video blog post is a final excerpt from Mike’s latest book, Into the Dark Cloud, out now.
This blog post is taken from my latest book, INTO THE DARK CLOUD. I’d like to recommend it to you, if you want to understand your life’s purpose, and if you’re willing to let God reveal your true self.
In this passage I examine why we cannot transform ourselves by self-effort.
Any aspects of our identities we have derived from external or earthly perspectives will be challenged, especially our view of ourselves and any other limiting attitudes and beliefs. Such mindsets conceal who we really are as sons of God, made in His image. He will expose the lies and dispel the limitations, freeing us from the need to identify and remove them ourselves.
Naturally, our focus will always be on what we want to avoid.If you ask me not to think of a tree I will inevitably think of a tree – in the very effort to not think of one!
Instead, we can allow the truth to transform us. True transformation occurs when we allow new ways of thinking to completely reshape our minds. Then the old ways fall away and there is no room for them. Even if they try to creep back in, we now see them as obvious lies, and wonder how we ever believed as we did.
We cannot try to transform ourselves through our own efforts. Instead, let us surrender ourselves as living sacrifices, and allow Jesus, our High Priest, to transform us. Embracing the soaking room is vital to this.
However, it is not only about removing the lies, but also about unveiling new truths and possibilities we would never have anticipated. I experienced extraordinary encounters even while I was still transitioning back and forth between heaven and earth, but there was a ceiling on my experiences because I was constantly shifting in and out. It was quite a high ceiling: I was ruling on a mountain, seated on a throne, operating as a lord – but God wanted to take me to another level.
My soul was still wired to ‘need to know’ what was happening. It would not allow my spirit to remain engaged, without being aware itself. My spirit was tethered to my soul, hindering me from reaching the fullness of my potential and restricting me from realising possibilities that have since become a lifestyle. That is why the tethering needs to be severed.
Only when my soul and spirit were untethered, separated and then correctly reintegrated through quantum entanglement could I gain the ability to dwell in dual realms simultaneously. Previously, I was tethered to the earth realm, and my experience was restricted. Now, my soul is instantly quantum-connected to heaven and earth at the same time.
That is one example of those new truths and possibilities being unveiled.
Key takeaway
We cannot transform ourselves through our own efforts. Instead, we can allow Jesus, our High Priest, to transform us.
This blog post is an excerpt from Mike’s latest book, Into the Dark Cloud, out now.
The dance floor is where we begin to take on the image of sonship
by engaging with the character, nature and essence of God.
On the dance floor we get to know Father, Son and Spirit intimately,
experiencing their fragrance, frequency, and unique characteristics. They are indeed all God, but they also display distinct qualities that create a personal and intimate connection. Through engaging with each of them, we become intertwined with their light in a beautiful, transforming dance.
[This is an excerpt from my book, Into the Dark Cloud. If you are looking for transformation in an intimate relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, this book is for you.]
On the dance floor of our hearts, we can engage with the eternal record of our identity, the song of all songs. This record describes who we are in God’s eyes.
I find great joy and delight as the light of God surrounds me and initiates transformation. I am being transfigured and transformed by the light, which effectively brings my two human strands of DNA into alignment with my third light strand, the one that carries my eternal record. I am being conformed to the image of who I truly am, my new creation self, aligning with the characteristics of God.
Through engaging with the nine characteristics of God I become aligned with His image, and this alignment profoundly impacts and changes me.
We can be immersed in the depths of the Father, Son and Spirit, taking us to a whole different level of connection. We can be clothed with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the armour of light, of righteousness, and the whole armour of God. Such experiences help us become who we truly are in Him.
The dance floor is not a one-size-fits-all formula that guarantees specific experiences at certain times. Rather, it is a journey that continually unfolds according to the seasons and circumstances of our lives. Sometimes we instantly connect with a revelation or experience, while at other times it may be released to us gradually.
We cannot impose a fixed timeline or try to rationalise everything cognitively. It is better simply to receive and allow the experiences to unfold in their proper season. Even if we do not fully comprehend what is happening in the moment, we can trust that deeper levels of revelation and transformation will be made available to us as we progress.
Experiencing God’s presence is not limited to a specific set of actions, reactions or sensations. Whether we see, feel, or sense anything, our spirits will receive what God imparts to us.
Key takeaway
We can begin to take on the image of sonship as we engage with the character, nature and essence of God.
Through communion, death has no hold over me.
The wages of sin is death, and Jesus has already dealt with sin.
But if there are still remnants of death within me,
inherited through my generational lines and encoded in my DNA, they are still able to manifest.
This is an excerpt from my latest book, Into the Dark Cloud. If you have ever wondered what Jesus meant when He said we could eat His flesh and not die, that is what I am writing about in this excerpt.
“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” (John 6:48-51).
Jesus really did say “and not die.”
There are people who have not died and are still alive, hundreds and hundreds of years old. They are often called hermits, or ancient ones, and they are somewhat changed by the process of living that long with God.
I do not intend to die either; therefore I want everything in me removed that could cause me to do so. I take communion so that there is no death operating in me. The plan of God is not for us to die and go to heaven; it is for us to have age-enduring life, living from the Kingdom of God within us.
If we have unknowingly made a covenant with death,
believing that we can only truly experience heaven after we die, let us break those agreements and mindsets. We can encounter God face to face, now, and become transformed into His likeness. The death and resurrection of Jesus have already overcome death, so we do not need to die. Jesus died our death on the cross, so that we would not have to. Now, all of us who believe in Him have the life of God at work within us.
We have spiritualised it to avoid believing it.
Not dying does not simply refer to life after physical death, but to a life that transcends death in this age and for all ages to come.
The resurrection changed everything. Jesus made it possible for all of us to have a relationship with God and experience exactly the same quality of life that He has.
Key takeaways
Jesus really did say “and not die.”
His resurrection changed everything.
Into the Dark Cloud is now out in print, and can be ordered from all good booksellers worldwide. Or you can get the ebook delivered instantly right now!
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*. Thank you!
Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.
Mike Parsons reads from his latest book, ‘Into the Dark Cloud’. –
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Only the truth that you know will set you free. How are we going to know the truth? Not by reading someone else’s book or doing someone else’s course – not even mine! What that can do is stimulate us to find it for ourselves by engaging God, who will reveal the truth to each of us so that we can live in it.
Desire, discipline, delight
So when this book gets into some tough areas, please do not tune out, switch off or walk away. If it gets difficult, surrender to God. Again, I am not saying that you have to take my word for anything: be still and wait in rest, and see if He has something to say to you about it.
That was the process God took me through: learning to be still and wait in rest. For two years I had loved being still, waiting and resting; until He told me to, and then I could not do it anymore.
That sometimes happens because it challenges the whole dynamic of what works for us! Generally it is our soul becoming uncomfortable in facing what it needs to face.
I went through various stages and processes of transformation, such as dealing with trading floors in my own heart, its motivations, thoughts and intentions. It was not at all pleasant for my soul because I had to admit that I was not very nice in some ways, and that my motivation was often not entirely pure. It was not easy, but because I knew the love of God it enabled me to trust Him, so instead of becoming defensive, I learned to surrender.
It was horrible to think that I was really like that: that my motives really were driven by my soul’s need or desire. But I realised that God loved me anyway so I was able to let it go. If I had gone with my feelings I would have stopped right there and never made it through to transformation.
If you get to a crisis point, try not to back off. Personal desire and pursuit will take you through the discipline to the delight. Stick with it. It can require fortitude and discipline to press on through but when you come out on the other side, I can promise you it will have been worth it.
Key takeaway
Instead of becoming defensive, I learned to surrender.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*. Thank you!
Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.
Emotions are a good servant and a bad master. The negative reactions we experience are often triggered by mindsets or neural pathways connected to memories. Predicting and controlling emotional responses can be difficult, but the restoration and healing of memories can lead to wholeness. Recognising our triggers and negative reactions is the first step, and in the Engaging God programme, I set out a process called Trauma to Transformation, exploring the roots of trauma with Jesus and the Father for healing.
When trauma surfaces, it provides an opportunity to explore its roots and understand why triggers occur for us. Walking through these memories with Jesus and the Father is a healing process, replacing neural pathways associated with trauma with pathways to the truth. This structured approach takes time but reduces the likelihood of repeated triggering. Meanwhile, in moments of overwhelming emotions, avoid condemnation or guilt. Turn to the Father, quickly re-centre yourself, and practise deep breathing to regain control until you can address the entire dynamic.
God wants to separate our soul and spirit, in order to properly reintegrate them. Our spirit does not need purifying as it has never been polluted; however, things we have done or had done to us can negatively impact our soul. When I go to sleep at night, I lie down in green pastures by quiet waters. I ask the Father to restore my soul, trusting Him as the Shepherd of my soul. I present myself as a living sacrifice, continually surrendered for Him to do whatever He wishes, and I respond when He reveals something. In this way, triggers can be dealt with, as the Father reveals their roots.
Several years ago, I faced an unexpectedly intense emotional response, which the Father revealed as stemming from childhood trauma from which I had completely dissociated. Rather than succumbing to the darkness, I chose to focus on finding peace and rest in the Father’s love. It took a few months, but over time He revealed and addressed the root cause and brought healing.
The sacrifice does not prepare itself; the high priest does. I offer myself to God daily, allowing Him to do as He pleases. I maintain my focus on Him, without pressuring Him to address my issues. I trust His guidance and surrender everything to Him, relying on His provision to renew my mind, heal my emotions, and restore me completely.
Key takeaway:
Focus on God, and allow Him to lead and guide the process. Trust in His love and provision for complete renewal in spirit, soul, and body.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*. Thank you!Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.
Engaging with God intimately is a journey of transformation, as we spend time in the light of His love. It is not about rigid doctrines or rituals; it is about being in His presence, letting that love shape us into the very image He always intended. This transformation can even affect elements like our DNA and family history, as we align with the Father’s revelations. It is a journey of ‘becoming’, in which we are guided by His wisdom and respond practically to His leading.
This is a state of being in which we are constantly aware of His unconditional love, limitless grace, and triumphant mercy. Dwelling in Him allows for a richer relationship, yet our focus remains on being present in that love, not necessarily noticing, recalling or dissecting every detail. Shifting our perspective from a frantic pursuit of ‘doing’, we can embrace a life of ‘being’ – dwelling in love, intimacy, and rest. Any actions we take in the spiritual realm come from that place of rest, often without a cognitive understanding of what is happening.
Living multi-dimensionally involves being present in multiple realms simultaneously, led by the Spirit, and always from a place of rest. The mindset of what we should or should not do is replaced by a focus on enjoying life, rejoicing, and embracing love, joy, and peace – even amidst life’s storms and challenges.
Key takeaway
Shaped by love: Let God’s unconditional love shape us as we are guided by His wisdom and respond practically to His leading.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*. Thank you!Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.
We saw last time that love wins. If love does not win in the end then it cannot be love; but love can never be forced, just continually demonstrated again and again, until it eventually overcomes every obstacle, objection, excuse and reason.
That is why I believe in the restoration of all things. God’s love will never stop because He cannot stop being Him: He can never deny Himself and who He is, so He continues to love. And because He is an eternal being, that means He will never stop, so God and love will never fail.
His love never fails, never gives up and can never be escaped because it is filled with age-enduring grace and mercy. That grace and mercy will never cease to be a vehicle for love to be expressed and demonstrated abundantly, lavishly and with extreme desire and intent, without limits. God’s love has no limits: if you put a condition on it, then you have limited it. If love is limited, it is not love. Love must be extreme or it is not love. Love must seem wasteful and undeserved or it is not love.
His love cannot be thwarted by sin, rejection or death – it has experienced all there is and yet has conquered and overcome all things, so that all things can be restored to love’s face-to-face, relational innocence. That is really the nature of what God has done: He has made us innocent. That is how He sees us. Do we feel it? Or do we feel ‘less than’ because we struggle with the concept of unconditional love?
Nothing can separate
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35, 37-39).
That really leaves nothing out. That is the nature of that love: there is nothing we can do – or anyone or anything else can do – that can separate us from the love of God. Religion, even though it will probably have you read that Bible verse, will tell you the opposite, that there is something that can separate you from the love of God: your choice. But your choice can only separate you in your own head, it cannot separate you from a God who loves you unconditionally. And that is really what we need to understand and engage.
If you still think you can separate yourselves, or feel separated because of your past life, or things you might do, or thoughts you might have, remember this: God takes no notice of what you – or others – think, He just takes notice of who He is. And He is unconditional love.
Discover who we are
So to know our true identity as sons of God, which is who we are, it is imperative that we know unconditional love by personal, intimate experience and not just in an intellectual way. I would have always said that I believed that God is love but my understanding of that love is very different now that I know it by experience. I have had so many experiences of the nature of that unconditional love, both towards myself and how God has expressed and shown His love to others, that I am absolutely convinced that this is the key, that everyone needs to know. All of us ‘know’ that God is love because the Bible tells us; but the question is, have we all experienced that love as unconditional or do we just know it as a concept or a theory? God wants it to be very practical.
As sons of God, we need to have our lives built on a solid foundation: that foundation is the nature, character and essence of who God is as I AM. I AM is a constant, never changing. He is unconditional love, He is limitless grace and He is triumphant mercy: put all those three together and they make a totally solid foundation on which to build our lives, to grow and mature. All these attributes have to be experienced: that is what God is working to do in our lives constantly, to enable us to experience the reality of who He is and so discover who we are.
Limitless grace, triumphant mercy
Never stop living in the reality of unconditional love, limitless grace and triumphant mercy. A few years ago there was a huge fuss over so-called ‘hyper-grace’. Well, His grace goes way beyond ‘hyper’: it is limitless! There is nothing that limitless grace cannot deal with or overcome.
And His mercy is triumphant, which means no matter what obstacle or hindrance might get in the way of us experiencing unconditional love, His mercy has already triumphed over it! So if we live in that reality, then we can abide, dwell, and remain at rest in that state of conscious awareness that we are loved. We do not have to do anything, it is completely free and unconditional. That may not be easy to accept, because of the way we have been conditioned to think about love and about God. That state of being, immersed in that unconditional love, limitless grace and triumphant mercy, is an expanded state of consciousness, an awareness that forms the foundation of everything we think, feel and do. Therefore we can just be.
Our true identity and our consciousness of that identity is about being, not doing. If we can really get hold of that reality then it will free us up so much to discover just how powerful we are and how amazing our sonship is. Yet it is so hard to just be when we are conditioned to do. All of us have been programmed by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, programmed into independence, so that we believe we have to do something.
Religious systems
Probably all of us have been involved in some religious system or other and those systems tend to require performance or adherence to a set of behavioural norms so that we will be accepted. When those norms are projected onto God, as they often are, it leads us to believe that God requires certain things of us, which contradicts the truth of His unconditional love. But Paul wrote:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2).
Or, ‘do not be pressed into a religious or political mould, shaped or formed by the political and religious systems you live under, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ We cannot renew our own minds, however hard we try. I used to try to renew my mind by confessing Bible verses over and over again, making confessions and declarations and decrees so that I would believe what I was declaring. I learned a lot of Bible verses that way but it never renewed my mind: the only thing that renewed my mind was an experience of God that changed my mind because now I knew the truth (and that truth was different from what I thought before) and now I agree with Him, which is what metanoia (usually misleadingly translated as ‘repentance’) actually means.
Blameless innocence
God’s good, acceptable and perfect will is proven or known when we experience it – but we have taught people that you can only know it by faith. Faith is the evidence of things not yet seen, but I want to live in the reality of experiencing everything that God intends for me, not to die never having received it (as happened to all those heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11).
… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will… (Ephesians 1:4-5).
That is His will: that we would be before Him in love. In the Mirror Bible it says:
He associated us in Christ before the fall of the world. Jesus is God’s mind made up about us. He always knew in his love that he would present us again face to face before him in blameless innocence… (Ephesians 1:4 Mirror).
That is such an amazing statement! Perhaps if we look at our life we would say we are far from blameless; but God is not looking at what we have done, He is looking at what He has done, at what Jesus has done. We are who He says we are, so His love enables us to be face to face with Him without fear (because perfect love casts out fear). His love, expressed as His will, chose us to be restored to face to face, blameless innocence. And when we have been face to face with Him, then we can begin to realise how blamelessly innocent we are.
In God’s heart we are already restored: we just need to catch up with what is already true rather than trying to make it true. He is much more patient than we are, and His patience means that His love will never fail. And His limitless grace and triumphant mercy ensure that we will all know his love unconditionally, one way or another, however long it takes.
Each of this series of blog posts is adapted from Mike’s latest FREE video series on ‘Unconditional Love’.
Click the image or link above for the whole series, or scroll down to watch the video of the talk this post comes from. Better still, become a patron and join us live for the next recording – they are normally on the second Sunday of each month at 6pm UK time.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*. Thank you!
*Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way.” (John 5:19).
We used to think of our Scroll of Destiny as having everything we are supposed to do written on it, and that we needed to see it to know what to do. I do not believe that anymore. I probably would have thought that way initially, and even taught it, but as I have discovered my relationship with God and discovered who I am, I am now just learning to rest, and be, and go with the flow.
Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. It was not that He had a huge scroll with the detail of every miracle He was going to do written on it: what was on His scroll was “Here is My Son: I am in His heart and He is in My heart”. When we have that relationship then that state of being releases a flow of everything we do.
Mandate for the day
I used to go to God every day and ask what my mandate was for the day. After a while He simply would not give me any information about that: He stopped me from doing, in order to teach me to be. He just hugged me, for months. In the end, I stopped asking “what are we going to do?” because I started to enjoy being, and being in His presence, without the agenda. We tend to think God has an agenda that He is wanting us to accomplish. Rather, He wants relationship; and from that relationship, everything flows.
Now I am not looking anymore for my mandate for the day or how I am going to fulfil it. That was just putting myself under pressure, which removes the joy. Life is to be enjoyed and that enjoyment comes from relaxing and knowing the Father’s heart, and just being. Just being is so much more important than focusing on what I can do, what I need to do next and how to do it.
It became almost formulaic, and that is not how God intends our lives to be. If all we have is a formula, we will end up doing things in our own strength. Now I would say that it is far more important to have that union with the Father in which He reveals His heart for us. If we know who we are, then we do not need to do something written on a scroll. He wants to reveal His heart to us so that we can express His heart in a much more relational way. If we have a relational perspective rather than a performance perspective, we will not end up feeling like we are a slave to our destiny: “I have to fulfil it, or else…”
We do not have to get into guilt and shame over whether or not we have done certain things today. It is not about what we did or didn’t do, or what we did wrong. If we are constantly thinking that we have somehow ‘missed it’, that will draw us back into works rather than grace. It is not as if He cannot rewrite the script to enable His purposes to be fulfilled, in ways which are beyond our ability to understand. God is going to bring good out of everything, even the things where we may not have heard clearly (or even at all). He has it all in hand.
I used to think I would one day have to give account for all those things I haven’t fulfilled. I don’t buy into that anymore. God gives us a continual purification of that scroll of our life, and when we choose poorly or with wrong motive He does not hold it against us. We have come to understand that, contrary to what we may have been told, ‘carrot and stick’, punishment and reward, are not His way of doing things. He shares His heart and inspires and encourages us. He continually enables us to walk in our destiny: and it is more about who we are than what we do.
Predetermined, predestined
So I don’t believe that our scroll of destiny is a list of achievements that we need to accomplish. I think it is much more about our alignment with the heart of God in who we are as creative beings. That allows us to outwork our destiny in multiple different ways, rather than there being the one way which is the right way, predetermined and predestined.
What was predestined was relationship. We are predestined to a restored face-to-face relationship, not for a whole series of things that we should be trying to do. All the Father is looking for is relationship, in which we’re sharing heart together. He is unveiling His heart and intentions to us: we cooperate and outwork that through who He has made us to be. Every day, Jesus saw what the Father was doing and cooperated with it. And, like Him, we can do so in a very creative way. That is one reason why Jesus healed people in so many different ways. I think He was trying to get over the point that there is no formula: you have the Father’s heart, now express it through who you are.
I am only responsible to be who I am created to be. Everything else will flow out of that. So I fix my eyes on Jesus and on the Father and then I find that I just walk out every day and enjoy it. Life is so much more enjoyable when I am not pressured to perform some duty or obligation that religion has put on me: “You should be praying every day, reading the Bible every day, witnessing every day. You should be doing this, you shouldn’t be doing that…” The Father is the one who is going to direct me every day, and He does not give me specific directions very often, other than “Hey, let’s walk together” or “Let me show you something.”
Freely we receive
We tend to put a higher value on religious activities than God does. He would rather we learn to be an expression of love in every situation than get caught up in performance of any sort. Let’s not underestimate the value of love. Someone may appear to have done nothing in their life but love their family, yet He places such a high value on that. Let’s focus on being an expression of love ourselves.
This means we do not judge anyone else or where they are on their journey. When we rest in love, we can be an expression of love ourselves. Freely we receive, freely we give (see Matthew 10:8); so let’s make sure we freely receive, otherwise we have nothing to give. For a lot of people, they are wanting to give because the Bible says so or they are conditioned to believe they should, when they have never really focused on receiving, and being, and experiencing, and knowing the unconditional love the Father has for them. It is hard to love unconditionally if you have never really experienced unconditional love yourself.
A place of rest
Now all this is not to say that God doesn’t have things for us to accomplish in relationship with Him; but it is the way we do it rather than a series of things that we have to fulfil. I have engaged with the heart of God, discovering who I am and discovering that state of being at rest, that state of consciousness which is an awareness of the heart of God.
If we are trying to get our identity from the things we do, that will always result in feelings of condemnation because we will never do enough to satisfy ourselves. God just wants us to be, and the more we can just be, the more everything flows out of being. That is a wonderful state, such a place of rest: all the striving, all the performance, everything goes.
That place of rest is filled with joy. I just don’t find a lot of religion that is filled with joy: there is such pressure to perform and to avoid failure. We are never going to meet some magical mark of perfect performance. So let’s receive grace and mercy every day and know there is no mark to attain. We do have a destiny, but it is to be who we are. Bring it back to that simple thought: my destiny is to be the ‘me’ that God created me to be.
If I focus on how much transformation is still needed, that can put pressure on me, because I am not there yet. If I just enjoy being where I am and continue the journey, it will take me to where I will be. The journey itself is important, not a series of destinations, because it is a journey of relationship and that journey will inevitably bring me to a completely fully restored perspective.
The ‘me’ I am at the moment, I know, is not the ‘me’ that I will eventually be. But from God’s perspective I already am, because that is how He sees me. He does not see me the way I see myself or the way others see me. And when I agree with how He sees me, it enables me to become like that.
But He already sees me that way now, which is why He smiles. When I look into His face I see no condemnation of where I am, just the love and pleasure of His heart because He wants relationship. That is His highest agenda.
Available now – Mike’s latest FREE video series on ‘Unconditional Love’.
Click the image or link above. Better still, become a patron and join us live for the next recording – they are normally on the second Sunday of each month at 7pm UK time.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to support our work with a one-time gift*. Thank you!
*Note: This donation is securely handled through PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account yourself to make a one-time donation.
For repeating donations, if you do not have (or want) a PayPal account please support us through Patreon instead.
Sons of Issachar 