by Aaron Davis
As one who typically doesn’t fit within the mold of traditionalism, I am so thankful for the establishment of Christian churches that allow for my individuality and love me while also encouraging me toward the further expansion of the kingdom of God in my life as well as through my life to the rest of my sphere of influence. If that were unavailable to me, it would be very difficult for me to be functionally fulfilled in the body of Christ. And I am as different as others are on the other side of the spectrum that find themselves able to relate and fit within the structure of the church down the street that is personally not my flavor.
As long as body parts separated from the other parts is the norm, the power of a united body is also sacrificed. Disconnected from each other and ultimately from the control of the head, each piece is bordering on a lifeless, defenseless remnant of what it was or could have been. Is our enemy, described as a roaring lion scanning the earth seeking whom he may devour, snacking on us at will like a crippled animal separated from the strength of the herd?
I find myself pondering the possibility of what the manifested strength of the body of Christ united would look like in contrast to my life experience of an overall divided body. If we were actually intentionally seeking to be united with one another and to love one another, would we experience more victories over the kingdom of sin and see the fruit of it in our lives?
Ephesians 4:16 (AMP)
For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.
There is a strength found in the numbers of the pack. There is a very real need to not only be connected to the head (God) but also the body. What if we have access to exponential power when united but are somehow limited in our expression of it by our failure to understand the importance of connectivity to each other as a body? What if unity and love is an underlying part of the equation that opens the doors for the miraculous, and that miraculousness would be an example to the world proving that God actually did send Jesus and He was more than just a man who had some great and honorable teachings?
MAYBE IT WASN’T YOU—IT WAS ME
If you are like me, I’m sure you have at some point said to yourself, “God, I did exactly what I perceived that you said in the Bible. I placed my petitions before you, I went to the elders of the church to have them pray for me, I confessed your promises, I worshiped you, I sought you, I knocked on the door, and yet still find myself wanting for what I thought was your promise according to your will. Where am I missing it?”
I just wonder if it is possible, at least in some occasions, if you didn’t miss it at all. Perhaps it was me, Aaron Davis, as the part of the body of Christ who should be offering you additional strength and standing with you through your pain (by filling my God-ordained lane) who failed you. Perhaps I was to be the elbow to your forearm. I wonder if I should have heard God on your behalf in a season when your circumstances overwhelmed you and ultimately kept you from seeing or hearing clearly. Maybe I and those like me should have been joining arms in battle against that thing that is opposing the advancement of the kingdom of God and manifestation of His promises in your life.
Maybe my failure to be intentionally connected to the body has limited you from experiencing the benefits of the giftings placed in me (or another reader) that were intended for the advancement of the entire body, instead of what I have used them for in a self-exalted desire for feeling personal fulfillment in my relationship with Christ.
To take this a step further, perhaps there are times when we are to speak to the mountain individually and see it removed, but other times where we speak corporately in unity as the complete body of Christ to the mountain and see the miraculous take place! I don’t know necessarily that this is absolutely the case, but when I consider all of the scriptures, all of the promises, all that is supplied in our covenant with God, all that Christ exampled, all that He said, I just have to wonder if maybe our greatest obstacle to seeing the fulfillment of the kingdom of God manifested in the earth is me, or you, or the pastor up the street, or the church I attend every Sunday. I also wonder if we have become nearly powerless, not because of a lack of power available, but rather a lack of connectivity to the intended source of power. Perhaps our limited display is a direct result of our capacity to handle the load.
What if the body of Christ functioning collectively as one instead of as individual members is a significant part of a missing component where, when one seems to fall short, that two, or five, or ten, or 1,000 functioning in united purpose is the missing catalyst for breakthrough on an insurmountable scale for the one who is struggling? What if this is what Jesus was talking about when He said that he was coming back for a bride without spot or wrinkle (or deformity or missing limb)? What if unity is an essential part of the equation for establishing the kingdom of God on a world scale?
Matthew 18:19 (AMP)
Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.
Unity may be an essential Quantum Christianity element of the kingdom of God being established in the earth and a catalyst for the “all things” aspects of experiencing God’s promises in the capacity that His will would actually desire.
THE TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES
When I was growing up, there was a movement in Christianity called the Faith Movement. In the Faith Movement, there were many leaders who made the statement, “If you didn’t receive from God, then your faith just wasn’t great enough . . . ” or at least that was the perception by many who heard them, and I’m not certain that there is as much consistent validity to that statement as has been ascribed. Although the Bible does state in Hebrews 11:6 and James 1:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God and we must extend our faith in prayer and believe God for what we are praying for, I’m not certain that everything that either gets blamed on God’s will by one camp or blamed on our lack of faith from the other camp are necessarily such black-and-white issues.
In law enforcement, we use the phrase “the totality of the circumstances” in court, which very basically means that the outcome was based upon all of the circumstances present at the time. Oftentimes, the lawyer will want to know a black-and-white answer of yes or no, and true or false for questions that involved many shades of gray based upon the totality of the circumstances. I think many times we are much the same way in how we process our own experiences. I just wonder if it is possible that we have heard a wrong or incomplete message, processed our experience through what we have been told was black and white, and were left with only a partial understanding (or even completely incorrect understanding) with which to process our circumstances.
THE SOLUTION
Few see the body of Christ as more than the part that they or their tribe represent. But is it possible that a body is like the interdependent ecosystem of trees and roots that we described earlier? When we think of the body of Christ, we often envision and define it by our perception of its visible major parts. But isn’t a body much more complex and equally dependent upon its other, less visible parts, all the way down to a cellular level?
Unlike the human body, parts of the body of Christ can choose to exist apart from the whole, but in parallel to the human body, as has been outlined, I wonder if disconnection from the whole has dire consequences for all involved.
I’m not convinced that unity within the body of Christ ever happens by default, but rather that unity is intentional. Even in science, the Second Law of Thermodynamics states that nature moves automatically toward chaos and disunity, and I’m not sure that the church doesn’t also fit within that example.
Can we realistically expect a church that assumes or hopes that they
will become unified to go from bad to better without any work? Much like an office or desk never becomes cleaner and more organized the longer it sits there, I wonder if it is only in intentional organization that the ability for order exists instead of chaos.
If perception determines reception and reception is the catalyst for action, is it not essential to perceive and accept that you are a part of a whole first? And if this is the case, then your individuality and calling is primarily for the function and benefit of the whole! This realization would also imply that apart from a connection to the whole, your part to fulfill is relatively useless, because disconnected from your intended purpose, the body suffers and you rot.
I realize this line of questioning can be uncomfortable, but when comparing it to scripture, is there validity to the thought process? Have we blamed God for areas where we have not experienced breakthrough, when maybe we are experiencing what happens when we or another essential part of the body is not fulfilling their necessary part? If so, is it God’s fault or our fault (individually or collectively to some extent) for our failure to be the part of the body we are called to be instead of the cancer that many through doctrines of division have become?
If unity is a choice, if connectivity is a choice, if loving God and loving people is a choice, then I wonder if the catalyst for change is not to choose to do things differently from the way they have repeatedly been done. This is not to say that everyone everywhere must come into agreement in order for us to experience what God has for us, but rather to each recognize the importance of individually taking responsibility for our lane and being who God has purposed for us to be, in order to influence the changes that we are purposed to influence. As more take this responsibility seriously and with intentionality, the impact upon the kingdom of God grows exponentially.
SO HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
You don’t have to have the support and unity of your family, your church, our your city to see change in your life. Just start with yourself, and one step at a time, begin to seek God in your life—in your actions, your decisions, your relationships—and just see what happens.
Imagine what would happen if we intentionally chose to seek God’s guidance for our lives and made decisions based upon what He guided us to do.
What would happen if we intentionally chose to genuinely love other Christians regardless of where their belief systems differed from our own?
What would happen if we unified ourselves in the intentional pursuit of our divinely inspired authority and establishing the kingdom of God to the best of our understanding and abilities?
What would happen if we intentionally implemented the teachings of Christ and stretched our faith to actually believe the promises of God, instead of doubting their relevance for our situation?
What would happen if we established an intentional unity with the heart and love of God, and then established that same kingdom principle in our home?
What would happen if we took that unity that was established in our lives and homes and took it to the next level and saw it established in our church?
What would happen if we were to come into unity with God, our family, our church, and then the church intentionally sought out that which unified us with other churches in our city and we walked in unity as an entire city of believers?
What would be the impact if our city of believers connected with a common vision of expanding the kingdom of God and His rule, and we connected our cities with other cities of believers and we were no longer exercising the authority of the small part that we represent but the strength and power and authority of a unified, collective whole?
What would be the results of one nation under God, indivisible?
What would advancement of the kingdom of God in the earth on this scale look like?
IT’S HAPPENING
I’m convinced that this movement has already begun. I’ve seen with my own eyes the coming together of denominations that previously existed at odds with one another as their current leaders are seeing the value and strength of a unified front and are allowing that which unites them to do just that. They are seeing the value of all screaming for ice cream and advancing the kingdom of God, instead of just their opposing partisan viewpoints. I’m seeing the congregating of leaders and churches joining together in unified prayer for their city. I’m seeing these same leaders building up the other pastors and churches from their pulpits instead of tearing them down.
I’m convinced that there is a corporate desire to experience more than what we have experienced.
There is an understanding that there is more that is available to us.
There is an understanding that God is bigger than we have given Him credit for.
And there is more available to us than we have currently experienced.
There is a corporate press for a deeper understanding of who God is and who we are in Him.
There is a burning desire in this generation to see the kingdom of God established above the other established kingdoms in the world . . . and I believe that we are on the verge of the establishment of a new understanding of Quantum Christianity in the earth!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Revelation Revolution
“As we conquer peak after peak we see in front of us regions full of interest and beauty, but we do not see our goal, we do not see the horizon; in the distance tower still higher peaks, which will yield to those who ascend them still wider prospects, and deepen the feeling, the truth of which is emphasized by every advance in science, that ‘Great are the Works of the Lord.’”
—Sir Joseph J. Thomson, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, discoverer of the electron, founder of atomic physics
“Change is inevitable. Progress is optional.”
—Danny Chambers
I’ve heard people say that “God needs us” as if His worth is somehow defined by us, His creation. But I’m not sure that this is exactly true since God has been completely self-sufficient for eternity. But, as has been proposed in several different ways throughout this book, it does seem that, at least on the earth, God has purposed from the beginning of the creation of man to establish His kingdom on the earth, through us. So, even though He is self-sufficient, it appears possible that in order for the desires He has for man to operate in His love and establish His kingdom in the earth, there needs to be a submission by man to see this established. It’s not happening by default in any way that I have ever experienced, outside of intentional application.
Although I believe that a sufficient argument on cause and effect could be presented outlining man’s lack of intentionality being a catalyst for our current experience, I don’t subscribe to an ideal that our lack of intentionality lessens the desire He has always had for mankind to display His love and become co-laborers with us in establishing His kingdom on the earth. He loves seeing people completely liberated from the oppressive established kingdoms of darkness that so frequently seem to prevail in the lives of the multitudes.
The more I search for answers, contemplate the principles and attempt to exercise my faith with boldness past the point of traditional comfort zones and my own personal “no lines,” the more I’ve seen the confirmation of what I have proposed in this book concerning establishing the kingdom of God on the earth and subsequently destroying the effects of the kingdom of darkness.
For many, a lack of experience and a lack of teaching have fostered an environment where it becomes easier to doubt than to extend faith. We have been spoon-fed excuses and permission by our leaders who have told us that God does not heal or does not want to heal, or might not really want to heal; and some have even derived that God does not really interfere in the affairs of man at all. But for those I have observed who are pressing past the lines drawn in the sand by our predecessors, I am seeing an experience that is much different from what many have been told was even possible. In the lives of those who are pressing past the previous generations’ “no lines” and staunch perceptions of limitations, I am
seeing the manifestation of that which was said to be impossible! The “no lines” are becoming the “know lines” of this generation who is seeking to know God in the way that His Word and promises have said He can be known.
MAN’S AUTHORITY
Just a few weeks ago, I was teaching a midweek class on this very subject. After class, a man wobbled up to the front on crutches and asked for a copy of the CD from the class. I’d never seen or met this man before this moment.
As he supported all of his upper-body weight on his crutches, I told him, “We’ll get you a CD . . . but what’s wrong with your leg?” He proceeded to tell me that he had a really bad biking accident and injured his knee. He had been getting cortisone shots in it, but the pain was severe, he had minimal mobility, and he could not put any pressure on it.
The class I had just taught was on the authority that God has placed in man to establish His kingdom on the earth and I saw this as an opportunity for God to touch this man and for me to enforce the authority that He has given me. I looked at him and asked him if I could pray for him. He sat down and put his crutches off to the side, and I knelt down in front of him. I placed my hands on his knee and began to pray.
My God, You love us and sent Your Son Jesus to pay a great price so that Your people did not have to walk bound by pain, sickness, and disease. You sent the same Holy Spirit that was in Jesus and filled Him with power to us so that we could walk in power and authority in the earth. Right now I call upon You, and in the authority and power You have entitled us to walk in as Your children, I command this knee to be healed! Pain, go in the name of Jesus! I thank You, Lord, for Your healing power and right now I release that power into His knee in Jesus’ name!