30 Jan 2015 by Jason Law CM –
The Planetshakers’ annual visit to Malaysia is one of the eagerly-awaited highlights of the year for many Christians. For three nights and two days, their rallies and workshops are packed to the brim and the lines entering the auditorium take up almost the whole outer corridor.
Besides the rallies themselves, the Planetshakers are also taking up roles as connectors in the field of Christian Media and Evangelism. In one of the workshops conducted on the 24th of January this year, Pastor Neil Smith discussed about living in the favour of God.
Living In a Room Called Favour
Pastor Neil shared that in order to be in the favour in God, we must learn how to place ourselves daily in a room filled with God’s presence. And in order to do that, we need to cultivate a radical faith and expectation as part of our routine.
‘I am going to talk to you about living in the room called Favour,’ Pastor Smith shared. ‘You see, we need to understand that God has favoured us; that’s a scripture that has been coming to us over and over again. The truth is, if we’re going to be leaders in the Church, if we’re going to be people who help in ministries and be part of things that happen in the Church’s life, then we need to have on us something that people desire.
‘We need to be people who are so full of faith, so full of confidence, that often, when people step into a church, we are the first ‘Jesus’ they see. They see the presence of Jesus through you and that becomes their expression of “Do I want this Jesus or don’t I?” So the truth is that we need to understand that we are people who are favoured by the Lord but we continue to live in that favour every day of our lives. I want to declare over your lives that favour is going to rule over them in 2015.’
The Favour of the Lord Brings Power and Authority
One of the things that are related to living in the favour of the Lord is dominion, also known as power and authority (Ephesians 1:18-23).
‘If we want to understand living in the favour of God, we need to understand what it is to walk in dominion. Not everyone understands what dominion means but it basically signifies the right to govern or rule. We as the Church are supposed to walk in authority; we are supposed to recognize that God has given us a dominion authority, whether in business, education, or whatever it may be. We need to walk in the sense of dominion authority; “God has given me the right to be the head and not the tail, and through His power, I will overcome and fulfill what God has purposed me to do”,’ Pastor Neil imparted.
The Meaning of Dominion in the Lives of Christians
For Christians, dominion has a different meaning from that of the world. ‘We don’t dominate people, we dominate atmospheres. Dominance over individuals is dictatorship or bullying. We are called to be people who carry dominion, not necessarily over people, but over realms, over the spiritual atmosphere, no matter where God has placed us,’ Pastor Neil conveyed.
He shared that Luke 8:49-56 has much to show us about the nature of faith and its role in the exercise of dominion. In the passage, we read about Jesus’ healing of Jairus’ daughter. There are three things to take note; 1.) There were only a few people in the room 2.) most of the people, including some of the disciples, did not get to go into the room 3.) the specific people Jesus chose to go into the room.
What the Passage Shows Us about Being in the Room Called Favour
‘When we hear about the revivals that are taking place all over the world, how often do we wish that we did not just get to hear about them but also be a part of them?’ Pastor Neil encouraged. ‘God has prepared a room of influence and favour for each one of us, and we need to change our perspectives and not focus on the circumstances, as the wailers in this passage do, but rather on how to be solutions. How do we ensure that we are in the room that God has prepared for us?’
Among the people that were left out were some of the disciples; they missed the opportunity. These disciples haven’t caught what Jesus was doing. Pastor Neil communicated that Christianity is primarily about catching, and that a huge part of ministry need to be focused on teaching believers how to catch the heart of Jesus and be part of what He is doing. ‘Christianity is more than head knowledge, it is about interconnection; our relationship with God must reach deep down and catch our hearts.’
Three disciples – James, John, and Peter – were chosen by Jesus to be in the room with Him, and we read in many other passages that these three were notable for their faith and close relationship to Jesus. Jesus wanted them in the room for their faith and authority in changing the spiritual atmosphere.
How Do We Ensure We Are in the Room?
Pastor Neil imparted that there are three keys in ensuring that we are in the room of favour and catch on to the movement of God:
- Create and carry the atmosphere: Are we focusing on the circumstances or are we creating and carrying the spiritual atmosphere with authority?
- Declare the enemy is defeated: Be radical in our praises to God. Praise has the power to change atmospheres.
- Challenge and change our thinking: Our thinking has a tendency to be shaped by the atmosphere and culture of the place we are surrounded with. In order to place ourselves in the room of favour, we need to change the culture by bringing in the supernatural atmosphere of God into our surroundings.
NOTE: Planetshakers is an adults and youth movement that began as an annual conference and grew into a ministry and church in Melbourne, Australia. Planetshakers revolves around empowering a generation to win other generations. Its ministries have spanned across many countries including Hong Kong, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa. To find out more about their ministries visit their website.
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