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Keep watching the nations around you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it. – Habakkuk 1:5

What does it look like to disciple nations? And what does a nation look like that’s been discipled properly? Perhaps systemic poverty would be gone. Perhaps people would live peaceful lives and live in abundance, and families would thrive in that culture.

It’s not a dream. It’s not a utopian society. It’s completely possible in a Kingdom culture, and it’s what God desires for the nations.

Often the greed of dictators or other corrupt leaders is predicated upon the lie that there isn’t enough for everyone. If I give you enough, then I won’t be able to live in abundance, and I won’t be happy. It’s one of the great lies of our day. We see it all over the world in politics, among warring tribes… even in the church sometimes.

But what does Kingdom culture look like? It comes from family. We teach others as a family and lead others into encounters with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Whatever your job may be, you live your life and impact your area of influence by bringing Heaven to earth.

 

Cuba is Changing

One of the greatest examples I’ve seen of discipleship changing culture happened in Cuba. 19 years ago, a group of people in the persecuted church found an old VHS cassette tape of my teachings and reached out. When I first met them, I could feel the darkness of their society. They felt heavy and oppressed, living like orphans in secret under the heavy hand of communism.

Sometimes we feel like we’re living in darkness, and then we go to a truly dark place. It makes us thankful for where we live…

We taught the Cuban church for years on the Kingdom; taught them to adopt a Heavenly vision; see others through the eyes of Christ; and recognize who they are in Jesus. Their entire worldview shifted. It was amazing! Suddenly they’re saying, “Wow, there’s all this darkness; let’s bring in some light!” Suddenly they’re talking about what they’re for rather than what they’re against. Instead of blaming the government because we don’t have this and that, let’s do something about it.

And they did. They cleaned up the streets and built a health clinic. Now people are being drawn to the area and asking, why is there such a good health clinic here? It’s bringing transformation.

Out of their abundance, they even let the communist government borrow their chairs for one of their events. Our worldview used to be us vs. them, but now it’s about loving every area of society. They’re starting to influence the nation rather than being influenced by it. They’re capturing the heart of their good Father. And there’s some of the most extravagant worship in Cuba now. It’s truly amazing.

 

So How Can You Disciple Nations?

It’s easy to see evil in the world today. From the atrocities of the past in Cuba, Rwanda, and Cambodia, to the current atrocities in Syria, Sudan, and Libya, believers are asking God to do something about it. But He has called US to do something. He said that all authority has been given to you. If that’s true, then how much authority has been given to the devil? He only has what we give him. And if we keep it, then he doesn’t have the authority to destroy nations.

Here’s the key: you only have authority over what you love. If you’re intimate with God and love other people as you love yourself—and as God loves them—then you’re unstoppable. We need a convergence of love, power, and wisdom. This propels us to take action; to do something rather than spending our time protesting and complaining.

We need reformation, because it transforms culture; and you need Kingdom culture to change anything on earth.
Hans Nielsen Hauge is one of Norway’s heroes who created Kingdom culture when it was the poorest country in Europe—such that people would eat tree bark to survive! While many were just surviving under the gospel of salvation, one man had an encounter with the Holy Spirit while plowing his fields. His worldview changed. He started to love his country and the people in it, which brought his authority.

Hans Nielsen Hauge started the concept behind the 7 spheres of influence. Now that his worldview changed, Father God opened his eyes to see solutions in every sphere of society where he only saw problems before. People can’t read and write? No problem, he thought. I can just ski across mountains to start reading plans in remote villages. And sure enough, he did just that, and even started a plan to ensure everyone could receive a Bible.

No marketplace? No problem! The Lord showed him how to start businesses in communities to boost the economy. Hans Nielsen Hauge believed that every Norwegian is valuable, which means you treat them with high value, and it changes them. He even wrote books that influenced the way people were thinking; books about morals, the judicial system, and responding in love. The country was influenced by his actions after he died. A constitution was written, a business school was constructed, and people lived with a new worldview that they mattered and could live in abundance.

 

Change your Worldview

Everything you’re thinking about comes from an idea, whether good, bad, or neutral. Every idea has a worldview attached to it, which causes you to view things through certain glasses. Worldviews also have spirits attached to them. The killing fields in Cambodia started with a worldview attached to communism. What if we kill all the educated people? Everyone who disagrees with us? So there’s no competition. This led to a horrific genocide.

But there’s nothing God can’t redeem. When people step in to disciple nations, with a love for Cambodia and its people… the environment changes.

God loves both the victims and the victimizers. The people responsible for the world’s greatest atrocities are victims themselves, bound by the devil and brainwashed by his lies. They, too, need to know the truth. If we don’t disciple them, the devil will do it.

I’ve been blessed to witness what happens when victimizers receive forgiveness from their Father and step into their identity. During my last visit to Cambodia, the victims and victimizers came together in worship, miracles broke out, and people were healed!

 

Step up and get out!

God wants nations to experience how loved they are by Him. Every nation exists for a reason, and has a redemptive gift—one that’s supposed to reflect Heaven on earth.

We want nations to look how God intended from the beginning. So what needs to take place to change the future?

What does Kingdom culture look like in arts and media? When we’re dealing with addictions and poverty? It impacts and changes every issue we face today. When you love and disciple others, they start to love their country, and it starts a chain reaction. Do you hate your leaders? Or your country? Practice love so you will have the authority to influence the influencers. Practice love, power, and wisdom and change the nations.

I was in Chile the day Billy Graham died. Shortly after receiving the news, I felt the glory of God fill my room and I started to weep. It lasted well into the next morning, when the glory filled the breakfast area of our hotel—so much that I had a vision of his homecoming.

I could hear the Father welcoming His son Billy Graham home, saying “Well done, faithful servant!” I could see a multitude of people from different nations approaching him, welcoming him home. Thanking him for the way he lived his life. For finishing well. You could see the impact it had in heaven.

One of my key life verses came to me that day. In John 17:4, Jesus says that He showed His Father’s glory on earth and finished everything His Father called Him to do.

It made me think… am I living a full life every day? Am I living in such a way that when I’m finished, I can say that I accomplished everything I was put here on earth to do? The high price he paid for me is so valuable. I want to live a lifestyle of glory and release glory, showing people who my Father is by the way I live my sonship here on earth.

I also realized that there’s a lot of things God has not called us to do. There’s lots of noise and distractions in every season we’re in, pulling us away from our true purpose. But there’s a narrow path, and it isn’t always the easy way. When we’re on that path, we’re living full, and it’s worth it! Because we only have one life to live. When I stand before Him, I want to be able to say I utilized everything He gave me, left a legacy, and am fully ready to move ahead.

All of this started to burn in my spirit that day.

Using our Gifts to Finish Well

I’ve been thinking lately about the lives of a famous author and an equally famous playwright: C.S. Lewis and Oscar Wilde. Both men had very successful careers and left a legacy through their writings. But each man spoke drastically different words at the end of their lives.

Oscar Wilde is often quoted more than C.S. Lewis. In fact, he’s the most quoted playwright in the world after Shakespeare. Yet at the end of his life, he wrote about all the regrets he had; the things he wished he had done. He was not ready to see his Maker. He lived at the center of his own life, which he filled with temporary things that wouldn’t follow him into eternity.

On the other hand, C.S. Lewis told his brother at the end of his life that he was about to go home because he had finished everything God told him to do. He was living with eternity in mind. Both men had incredible gifts. But one chose truth and wisdom while the other chose happiness and pleasure. One experienced peace while the other had fear and regrets.

I thought about these men and it helped me realize the need in my own life to reorganize my priorities. I didn’t want to realize on my deathbed that there was this great potential God placed inside me that would also be buried with me.

How to Overcome Obstacles to Finishing Well

Sometimes my wife and I will walk through graveyards together and use our imaginations about what kind of lives these people lived. The last time we did this in Boston, I had tears in my eyes. I realized wow, there’s a book that was never written; a song that was never sung; a business that never started; a school system that was never created… So much potential is buried with those people.

There are many reasons this happens. Sometimes we don’t go after the desires of our hearts due to shame, or fear of failure, disappointment, discouragement, things that have happened to us in the past, or a number of other obstacles. The people who accomplish great things encounter the same things—fear, disappointment, and so on—but the difference is how they respond to it. In the midst of their struggles, some people receive an upgrade where they see that failure is not final.

Most of my close friends have failed often and even failed big. I can’t be around people who only score homeruns. I don’t have anything in common with them. I need to see someone’s process if I’m going to connect with them. I want to see people who went out there and attempted a dream, gave it their all, and got back up after getting knocked down one, two, or even fifty times.

The process is not automatic. It takes movement. When you ask yourself, What do I want to be known for? You can see things in your life that won’t help you get there. Habits, friends, anxieties or concerns, jobs… We were all born with potential, but sometimes we need to change things in our life to get to where God has called you to be.

So, let’s live full so one day we can die empty. I want to see a whole generation live a lifestyle of glory and finish well. What are you called to do? Ask yourself a few questions today:

1. What are some of the things that distract you from it?
2. What are some of your passions? The fuel that makes you burn brightly without burning out?
3. What are some giants you need to overcome to get to that finish line?
4. What are those temporary treasures in your life that feel good in the moment but cause you to have regrets later?

I have faith in you. That when you get to Heaven, you will see multitudes coming up to you, thanking you for giving your life to an eternal perspective.

It’s time for dreamers to dream! You recognize that voice, whether it’s loud or faint, telling you that you have something to give that could change the world. God wants each of us to dream with Him. Why? Because He is a dreamer. The idea of family and communion led to Him creating each of us – He literally wrapped our bodies around His dream. It’s in our nature to dream. It’s in our very being to partner with the ideas of heaven and walk out our individuality to change the world.

 

The Three Dream Killers

I was preaching at a church once and I began to ask this question out loud to the adults, “What is your dream?” To my surprise, no one said a word. I brought the children up to the front and asked about 10 of them what their dreams were. One by one they shouted out “I want to be an Astronaut,” “I want to be a professional soccer player,” “I want to be in the Hall of Fame.” These massive dreams just poured out of their hearts and they shouted them as if they had already accomplished their dream!

The reality of the situation was that the adults had dead dreams in their lives. I began to find out that the adults had fallen victim to these three things: disappointment, discouragement, and distraction. Today, I want to talk about what keeps us from dreaming with God and encourage you to begin dreaming!

 

Disappointment

Many of us have dreamed dreams before, and like all of us (including myself) we have been disappointed. That’s why many of us settle for survival. We dare not to dream bigger than what’s achievable because of safety. I’ve seen so many people let down and disappointed by their dreams. So what do they do? They lower their dreams or stop dreaming completely. They are just surviving. God doesn’t want you to lower your expectations. He doesn’t want you to live in disappointment. He wants you to keep dreaming! I heard it said once, “Disappointment is like cold water to a burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” If you choose to overcome disappointment, God will continue to give you dreams for your life that will come to pass.

 

Discouragement

Discouragement is another issue that I see many of us fall into. As dreamers we put so much time, energy, and hope into an idea and if someone questions it, brings doubt into our hearts or mind, our dream begins to fade away. Proverbs 13:12 says “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” We need to counteract our discouragement. To counteract this discouragement we need to be surrounding ourselves with the right people. Dream with the people who believe in you and want you to succeed. Dream from a place of identity, intimacy, and family. If you do this, you will understand that we all win. Heaven, family, and you yourself will be benefiting from a partnership of like-minded people.

 

Distraction

The last thing that keeps us from dreaming with God is distraction. This is the most difficult one to balance because of the ebbs and flows of life. Responsibilities, jobs, careers, and people come and go distracting us from the dream God has given us. You must receive the dream and then become the dream. Do not become distracted and do not forget the idea from heaven that could change your environment, circumstances, and the world around you. Please hear me – there is nothing wrong with getting a job, wanting to be successful, and climbing the ladder. I just want you to recognize that when you get to the top of the ladder, you can be confident that you are leaning against the right wall and not the wrong one! God says, “if you delight in me, I will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). We need to understand that we are valuable to God. We each have potential and He is just waiting for His sons and daughters to tap into their unique fullness.

 

Takeaway

I hope this helps you pinpoint some things that have been hindering your dreams. There is power in dreaming and I love to dream yet I have experienced these challenges many times.

 

I invite you to share the dreams you are dreaming now or the dreams you have been dreaming about – please share in the comments!