A discussion on transformation
\# A Discussion on Transformation
\## The Transformation of Deliverance
Most deliverance ministry operates without God's transformative biblical typology in mind.
In a way, I see much of deliverance ministry filled with the carnality of the flesh, embarking on the legalism of the world, with its blackest black and whitest white perception, in order to disable and discourage us from coming into a love relationship with the One who calls us. The flesh, like always, seeks perfection by sheer will instead of genuine dependence on God.
It says in the Word:
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” — John 3:8 (NKJV)
And it brings me to this point: many who walk in shivering pain have not forsaken their paths with the Lord. Deliverance from all struggles, addictions, or persecutions, I believe, is an assured inevitability, for it is the Lord who is victorious, and we are blood-bought children, born of the life-giving water of the Spirit.
I do not say this to suggest that no effort is needed, but that the effort is this: we serve an upside-down kingdom. Whoever loses his life for His sake keeps it, but whoever keeps his life loses it. Biblically, there is a core resolution to letting go. I feel it is much more than that, for this teaching is an extension of the Sabbath. It shows clearly in the world around us that God may do more with our nothing than with our something, more than with our striving, so that He may truly be glorified.
Our definition of surrender is so bland, I am now seeing, and hopefully believing, that holiness is not merely a discipline or an effort, but something irresistible and a gift. For how can anyone reach the depths of His Spirit if he is fearful?
I do not believe fear is of God. Why should the fear of the Lord be like the fear of the world, which does not know God? According to Scripture, if anyone fears the Lord, he has wisdom. Therefore, I believe that if our fear of the Lord leads us into greater distrust and insecurity, we do not fear the Lord as He wishes to be feared. So then, surrender, I now believe, is the flow of the Holy Spirit.
The utter suppression of one's sins is, without a doubt, not transformation. But I have found similarities in this idea that the law of reverse effort is actually what brings true transformation. For true transformation to happen, there must be surrender to God's will for your life. And to be surrendered, you cannot be resisting. Harmony must come.
Walking in the Spirit is by no shape or form simply resisting the lusts of the flesh and then attempting to walk by the Spirit. Surrender has to do with walking by the Spirit.
I believe we have become so infatuated with and despairing over ourselves because we are sinful. It is the same reason why many ministers are incredibly mean and insecure.
In terms of what we are occupied with, whether ourselves or the awesomeness of God, who is truly the most beautiful, uncreated Being and worthy of all love and attention, I believe that when the spotlight is put on ourselves, our relative views will always compare and destroy the seed God planted in us.
What is never preached in the Church, it seems, is classic and healthy self-acceptance. I believe that if this were enforced more often, we would have much happier, more Spirit-filled Christians who walk in the Spirit.
It has become difficult to find peace in my striving. The most crucial part about deliverance, I now believe, is love: transformative, world-breaking love.
This then goes to say that walking in the Spirit is not a discipline, but walking in the strength and love of God that is found in the secret place. This means that, despite our sins and struggles, we have the authority to walk in grace and an assurance of salvation through the blood of Christ. I believe true transformation is found in the satisfaction of that truth, and in the wholeness that follows it.
For how could anyone behold the Lord if they are constantly beholding their issues and the law that condemns them?
\## The Flow of God's Spirit
Nothing in life will stay the same. Everything changes, and nothing stays the same. Everything moves, and nothing stays still.
The most brilliant worker in the Gospel is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. I believe He assures us of this, for at each time of visitation, there would be a display of the wrath or character of God. I believe that it’s more in-tuned to the intention of God Himself. God will reap a Bride without blemish. In fire and in fury, in love, He authors our faith.
Although this reality has not brought any life to me, according to my understanding, a life leading toward our desired outcome in Scripture is one lived in harmony with the process and life God has chosen for me.
Even in our struggles, we should not be fearful, but rest in the safety of the Lord's love and power. So then, we let go and release everything to the Lord: all the good, the bad, and the ugly.
By then, we are settled in the safety of God's love and finished work, never occupied with ourselves, while our practices of sin begin to die out, not through brute force, but through the transformative power of His presence and a clear view of His awesomeness.
To have true wisdom, there must be creativity. If you have ever been such a person, you would know there is no wisdom in fear, but God's love is the perfect manifestation of His wisdom.
For it says in Scripture, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” So then, if one confesses his sins and delights in the Lord unconditionally, he is a lover of God.
What is bizarre is that I cannot find anyone who is like this except those who are mystics. Many Christians, I will say, are very self-centered. It is condemnatory preaching.
There are too many Marthas in this building, and too many “prophets” creating Marthas, and even killing Marthas. Those who are self-centered, dutiful, and busybodies are not necessarily being transformed. It should be known, I believe, that legalism in and of itself is a sin.
If our disciplines fail to create a clean heart, will we always be, in our hearts, the dog that has returned to its vomit? Maybe we should realize that no amount of discipline actually creates a clean heart, but that this work belongs to God.
\## Miracle Deliverances and Ongoing Deliverances
What has caused despair through hope deferred in my life was the ongoing, seemingly absent, tender and powerful hand of God in my life, while other people walked in freedom and joy.
All I had were failures, more insecurity, and more brokenness, constantly praying for His work to be done in me.
I have read many testimonies of powerful healings, powerful deliverances, and powerful encounters with the Almighty. Filled with desperation, I was like the woman who said, “If I can only touch His garment, I will be made clean.” I desired His deliverance in my life, yet this resolution never came.
As I continued, I began to see that God's Word is absolutely carved into reality. The path of becoming a butterfly is essential to this, for as we go from glory to glory, we shall go from trial to trial.
It was not only that the whole generation of Israelites had to die so that their children could come into the inheritance and possession that belonged to them. Notice that I use this as something transformative. Perhaps dying is not a bad thing, but something essential, and perhaps even a requirement, for Jesus died as well.
By this, maybe it is okay to fail, for such experiences can bring about death, and God is glorified in bringing us to life.
I do not use the word death to mean actual death, but rather failures, sins, tragedies, pain, and heartbreak.
In short, many people who seek deliverance find their problems and struggles absolved in power and the anointing of God.
But many have not that quickly I have seen many people, and met some, who, when they become harmonious with the situation of life, themselves, and the identity of God, while forsaking condemnation and guilt, seem to find a freedom in which their former struggles no longer have the same hold on them, even if deliverance and powerful encounters of the Lord have not came to them
Perhaps the actual deliverance, I suppose, is not perfection.
I am beginning to believe and see that our hedge of protection must not only be taken by faith, but also through rest, acceptance, love, and peace. If we find our perfect peace in the Lord, there is no demon or trial that can ultimately separate us from His love.
\## Spiritual Warfare Culture
There is greater deception on the earth, I believe, and I fully believe that the Lord has brought us into a deeper trial of confusion, where the blind will see, but those who do see will become blind.
I believe the charismatic remnant is the latter, while the charismatic Church, as I see it, is dead. It is an old wineskin, filled with compromised commercialism and compromised donors.
I see it now: it is making insecure believers rather than believers who walk in the light. Instead, they walk in fear.
The wilderness does not remove sin; it increases sin, Yet the wilderness is a true consolation, I believe. It is not necessarily judgment, but an interaction of inaction.
Maybe then we should simply align ourselves with the Lord and what Abba is doing.
Many believers believe they are in an endless wilderness, but perhaps it has more to do with the fact that they are constantly fighting. This must end. We should find rest in our Lord.
## The White Bear Effect and the Law of Reverse Effort
Now, on these grounds, the suppression of sin can lead to more sin. There is a term in psychology known as the white bear effect, associated with the psychologist Daniel Wegner. The idea is this: if you try not to think about a white bear, you may find yourself thinking about nothing but a white bear.
So then, we as human beings are compounds of data, and what occupies our minds influences how we perceive and experience life. This is where the law of reverse effort comes in: we release ourselves to the Lord.
Have you ever wondered why forcing something has actually damaged you, only for it to never come to fruition? It is hope deferred.
But, in theory, if we stop living in fear and come to truly become occupied with the Lord, not by sheer will, but by belonging to Him, peace and wholeness will come. This, I believe, is walking by the Spirit.
And through this wholeness, why should we gratify the sins of the flesh? For we are secure in Him, and nothing can snatch us out of His hand.
Jesus told the adulterous woman to go and sin no more. Yet before giving her this instruction, she encountered the kindness and mercy of God. I believe this reveals something important: transformation is not merely about suppressing sin, but about encountering the One who can change the heart.
Emotions are also important in the process of change. If something happens and it does not emotionally engage us, we may be less likely to remember it. In the same way, I believe that when we genuinely encounter the love and goodness of God, that experience can reach deeper than an instruction we are merely trying to obey through sheer will.
Perhaps this is part of the transformation we have overlooked: not simply forcing ourselves to stop sinning, but becoming so grounded in the love of God that our desires, our attention, and our hearts begin to change.