Utumishi Blog

• Breakthrough ?
• Exponential Expansion ?
• Leveraging your kingdom destiny ?

Practical exercise: Think back to the sermons preached in January 2013. Or look for the faded bumper stickers reading, “2013: Year of…” Now compare and contrast with 2013 on a personal, family, national, international level.

The famous story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen, first published in Danish 177 years ago (English translation here) is the classic analysis of why we continue to go along with a charade even when the reality we see with our eyes very clearly does not match up with the claims. We keep falling again and again for the false promises that don’t deliver because, as with virtually everyone in the story, we become convinced of two things:

• True reality is only visible to those with special insight, ‘faith’, who can ‘call the things that are not as if they are’. The faithless, the unperceptive, the carnal, the stupid, cannot see this reality.
• Everyone around us – or certainly everyone who counts – can see these realities. Everyone is testifying to the truth of these things, including, most significantly, the most honest and respected elders and authorities whose integrity is beyond question.

With these two elements in place the social, psychological and spiritual pressure on me to say that I also see this reality (healing, year of breakthrough, whatever it is) even in the face of data completely to the contrary is overwhelming. Socially, who wants to appear stupid and unspiritual? Who wants to stick out from the crowd and rock the happy boat? Psychologically, as I face this overwhelming reliable testimony in contradiction of my senses I’m tempted to doubt my perceptions and even sanity. Spiritually, I know I’m supposed to walk by faith rather than sight. Now of course that is supposed to refer to spiritual salvation realities and our future Hope of the return of Christ (Rom. 4; Heb. 11) rather than miracles and prophecies about 2013 or 2014 but the grain of truth gives the deception power and massively raises the stakes. So now my not seeing (or feeling) what everyone else is experiencing might make me question whether I am truly born again.

At the end of the day the con men who fooled the Emperor, his courtiers and subjects, played on natural desires – particularly the very powerful desire to avoid shame. How was the pretence exposed? By a child. The weak and foolish and despised shaming the strong and wise and esteemed. The one who has no honour or status to lose speaking the truth to those who cling to their honour and status and fear shame and dishonour (cf. Matt. 16:24-25; 18:1-4; Phil. 3:3-8).

Another exercise: Look at how the Bible authors do retrospectives and narratives of their past (e.g. Judges, Ezekiel 20, Daniel 9, Mark 14, Acts 7) – brutal honesty. And look at how they see the future (e.g. Acts 14:22, 1 Pet. 4:12-14, Rev. 21-22) – brutal honesty about trials plus rejoicing in Christ in the midst of them plus the great glorious certain future Hope of seeing Him.

Here’s a real encouragement for 2014:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)