LET THE OLD SKIN GO

LET THE OLD SKIN GO

  • Hurt In The Church

LET THE OLD SKIN GO

There are so many people struggling with the church right now. It can be a very confusing and unusual thing to steward. They love Jesus but have no taste for the church. I am seeing this in adults, young adults, and even children who are saying they don’t want to return. God calls us to come together and not give up the habit of meeting together. Something happens when we become a Body worshiping, connecting, and seeking Him together. Our bodies are wired to be together. I think it is important to realize what is at the root of pulling away from church because it can be a slippery slope if not understood. I saw a picture of a snake shedding its skin. The skin represents the ‘old church’ and the things that are being shed off, but the actual snake is still the church. You know that was a vision from God because I do not speak well of snakes, and it was such an odd animal to use to describe the church, but the shedding of the skin is an unusual process. The skin represents the man-made rules that have entered the house of God, the operating systems that are to serve man, not God, and the impurities that violate the righteousness of God. He is purifying the church by shedding off the old skin to make room for the new skin that is emerging. Let the old skin GO, but do not reject the church. This requires some intentional time with the Father to seek and understand what He is doing.

OPERATING SYSTEM

Every family has an operating system. Some allow sugar all hours of the day, while others limit it to special occasions. Some let children make most of the decisions, others very few. Some have strong core values or connections, while others barely talk. Some discipline with actions, others with words. I dare say that many differences are okay because no two families are alike, and God is doing something unique in every generation. Each child has their own destiny and must be parented according to what He is doing. However, the church is not plural – it is singular – HIS! It is not your pastor’s house, his stage, or his ministry. It is the Father’s house. There is only ONE operating system of the church, and the manual, if you will, is found in His Word. He outlines who should lead, how one should lead, what to do when someone sins, and how to respond to people when they make a mess and when they are unrepentant. He gives us the tools of correction, discipline, and removal. He tells us how to respond and how not to respond. If we are called into His house, then we must follow His ways, not create our own. Why? WITCHCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG IN HIS HOUSE. Leaders who create their own house rules invite the demonic in His house. Let’s say Sarah is a new believer eager to serve the Lord. She is in a church where the leaders have their own system of doing things. Sarah doesn’t have the manual, according to Mr. Pastor, so she doesn’t really know what the rules are or what she is following. The only way she knows she has done it wrong in their eyes is when she does it wrong and gets in trouble for it. Pastors who have their own rules often lead with shame-based responses. Instead of being hungry to serve, Sarah is now scared to mess up but can’t for the life of her figure out what is right or wrong. All she knows is that she does not want to get in trouble again. Let’s say Johnny sins. He is a believer and therefore has the Holy Spirit deep at work within him to convict him of his choices that will not go well for him or bear the fruit he is designed to bear. We rob God’s children of Holy Spirit conviction when we create our own operating systems in the church because the Holy Spirit does not follow man’s ways. He only convicts when someone is violating God. When we do things God’s way, we invite the Holy Spirit to help shepherd His people.

HURT IN THE CHURCH

Have you been hurt in the church? Of course, you have. Why? Because we are FAMILY, and family is made up of human beings on a journey to becoming more like Him. Hurts, mistakes, and choices make messes, sometimes big ones. The point is not that you got hurt. The issue is: #1. Understanding the PURPOSE of the hurt.  #2. What do you DO with the hurt? Why are we talking about this? Because nothing affects the next generation more than having parents who endured hurt in the church and are nursing wounds, confusion and pain and who have AMPUTATED themselves from the Body. We are talking about this because that is what HEALTHY families do. They talk, they get real, and they address what is attacking the family SO THAT they can deal with it, mature, and overcome it. Honor has been interpreted as silence, which is the enemy’s tool to keep pain trapped. You don’t need to take your hurts to social media, but if you want to heal, you have to be honest with yourself and God about your pain. 

I created this video teaching to address this issue. As you walk through this, I realize there will be things to process, so I have taken the time to cut this hour-long teaching into bite-sized segments, which can be found on our YouTube channel. You can simply listen to it if you do not have time to watch this. Either way, honor your own heart by giving it a voice. 

Click here to find the segments: Lisa Max – YouTube

I BLESS THIS MESS!

God knit your child in HIS image but with YOU in mind. He knows what you did and didn’t get in childhood and continues to parent you through your children. Parenting seems to be just fine until you have that one child who challenges you to the core. Is something wrong with the child? More times than not, no! God knit that child together in a way that aligns, restores, and heals things in you. This child is not a ‘black sheep’. This child is being used by God to change something in YOU. You can either spend the next 18 years shutting them down and disciplining them, OR you can heal what God is revealing through them.

The church is about to enter its messiest season ever. God does not make black sheep and knows what He is doing when He brings people together in the church. We have become masters at looking good, but underneath, people are bleeding. The amount of hurt in the church, youth who walk away, and spiritual abortions performed are staggering, and God is dealing with His family. Our wakeup call has already been sounded! We have endured the ‘time out’! Now that we are coming back together, we will see messes in the church like never before BY GOD’S DESIGN! He is exposing operating systems that need to be aligned with His Kingdom. He is revealing where leaders are leading from orphan places. He is highlighting areas where impurities have been allowed in. He is giving eyes to see patterns and cycles that are not bearing fruit. It is time to put away our spanking sticks in the church and discipline those GOD IS USING to create the change. 

Nothing brings more chaos to a home than siblings. Nothing brings more training and character development than siblings (by God’s design). Nothing brings more chaos to a church than sibling conflict. Nothing brings more training and character development than taking those messes and allowing God to reveal, heal, restore, and deliver. 

God is purifying His church and getting us ready, but we will miss it if we fail to see the areas He is cleaning up.

GRIEVING HOLY SPIRIT DREAM

I have been stewarding this dream for years and believe it is the time to share it. God was teaching me about family and, ultimately, the church because leadership should reflect good parenting.

In my dream, the kids and I arrived at our new housing. It was a unique round building with a gorgeous custom kitchen and living room in the middle. It was designed with the intention of people doing life together. Off of the living area were master suites with private bathrooms. We walked in, each carrying a different-sized suitcase, like the ones that were passed down from parents or grandparents. There was no check-in station as it was designed to be set up like a family with connection between the occupants, not run like a motel or business. We were aware there were people gathered in one of the rooms. I knew in my dream they were aware we had arrived and were waiting, but they didn’t come out to greet us or give us instructions. I didn’t want just to assume which room was ours, so despite traveling a long distance, we waited joyfully. The landlord walked in to greet us like a mother eager to see her child. I felt at home when she hugged me. She began to flow with tears. It wasn’t an anxious, wounded, or fearful cry. Just tears of genuine sadness. She said, “I want you here, but you can’t stay. You would be a model tenant, but they were here first and don’t want you here.” It didn’t feel like personal rejection as much as just the way things were done there. The sincere compassion I felt for the landlord for having renters who did not honor her desires for her own building made it easy to take my eyes off of myself and put them on her. I hugged her and assured her we would be okay, even though it meant we would be ‘homeless’ once we walked out the door. This tender moment morphed into me, saying firmly, “I will go (to honor her), but I will not leave until I have taken a shower first.” I was so aware in my dream it was 4 in the afternoon, and I was already clean. I went to take my shower and noticed a line that went all the way out the door. End of dream.

I woke up at 4 the next morning with a deep pang in my heart over what I had just witnessed in my dream. I got out of bed and sat in the dark living room, where I began to unpack the dream with God. He said, “Ask me who the landlord was in the dream,” and it was revealed she was Holy Spirit. I immediately fell on my face and wept. To witness Holy Spirit being grieved grieves me. To this day, I still can’t talk about the dream without tears coming to my eyes. I will never forget the genuine sadness in her eyes. The round living area represented what should have been a family room (not an empty living room). The people in the bedrooms were the parents/leaders who had authority just by ‘being there first.’ The dream highlights the need for instruction and guidance from them. Their closed room door and unwillingness to come out represents a wall they have built to shut out what they don’t want to enter. God sends children into families and people into churches carrying certain things (suitcases) because He knows what they need is inside of them. It grieves Him when we reject the ones He has sent to us to BLESS US. When we begin to run our families/churches according to our own agenda, we miss out on what He is doing in them. The lack of concern from the parents/leaders felt unloving, prideful, and downright rude, but the Lord showed me later that they were protecting something. Oftentimes when a parent/leader has wounds, hurts, jealousy or insecurity will, they will shut out the very ones God brings to them to help them. Just by their presence, a child/person can trigger the parents/leaders wound and cause them to ‘shut the door.’ This is a greater reflection on the parent/leader but often feels to the child/person like something is wrong with them. Parents/leaders can argue that what they are doing is right because they are ‘protecting’ something, but God never called us to be self-protectors. That is His job. I was aware in my dream, due to the uniqueness of the circle building, that the people in the closed room were at the 11 o’clock position. 11 can represent imperfection, disorder, disintegration, and chaos, which is exactly what happens when parents/leaders are unwilling to open the door, communicate clearly or welcome what those under them carry by God’s design. My shower represented my awareness that this interaction slimmed me, and I needed to rid myself fully and completely of any hurts, offenses, judgments, or bitterness. I assumed the words “you would be a model tenant” meant we were faithful financially, which is important to a landlord, but the Lord showed me that the word ‘model’ meant we, as a family, carried a model. There are five people in my family, and we all just happen to represent a different part of the five-fold ministry. We have an anointing in the area of family, and God has given us an anointing on how to model our families after His. We came into the family room, bringing that model with us. This is super important because we ALL carry things and that God wants to release through us. The vintage suitcases represented what has been passed down from each generation. We never meet someone with an empty suitcase. God has been setting things in motion in each family line for centuries. We carry what our parents, grandparents, and on did or didn’t complete on earth but may have sowed into. Each person’s suitcase is filled with valuable keys, solutions, and tools to build His Kingdom. My shower was at four which confirmed to me that I was FOR them, even though it wasn’t received. Taking a shower was about me, but FOR them as not to carry the offense against them. God also woke me at 4 am. Children are born FOR their parents until they are taught otherwise. Ironically, God woke me up at 4:44 am to release this dream. The long line indicated this dream wasn’t just for me but a corporate one, as many were slimed in the process of being shut out. This is a key and strategy of the Lord. We must clean ourselves of hurts, offenses, and judgments before we are fully free to move on.

HURT IN THE CHURCH

One mom messaged me after watching our video saying she sat in the parking lot of Target and wept as she heard God speaking to her for the first time in eight years after getting profoundly hurt in the church. Parents, it’s time to deal with the hurt and come home again! 

P.S. Do you have friends who are nursing hurts? Send this link to them in a private message with a word of encouragement that God sees their pain and wants to help them heal.

Video – Hurt in the Church – YouTube

Podcast – Hurt in the Church by Lisa Max – Let the Children Fly! (anchor.fm)

FAMILY OR BUSINESS?

The church is not the Father’s business! It is FAMILY! When churches are run like businesses, they are managed by managers only looking for the best to serve their cause, vision, and brand. When churches are run like a family, the messes, immaturity, and foolishness of a young child are what give healthy mothers and fathers a place to love, cover and teach them how to mature and grow their capacity. It also serves as a refining process for leaders to become more like Jesus by dealing with messy, imperfect people.

MESSES THAT REMAIN

I joined a friend who was teaching on prayer. In the middle of her talk, someone shouted out a comment which turned into actually praying and not just talking about it. The Spirit broke out, and it was powerful. One particular lady stood up and began prophesying. She was on fire. If you have ever witnessed the Holy Spirit move through someone releasing a prophetic word, it is a powerful move of God. But the Word of the Lord was over, and yet she kept going. If one could watch a video of her, it would be easy for the average person to see where the Spirit stopped, and she began operating out of her own flesh. It happens all the time in the church because that is where people are growing and learning how to use the gifts. I was unphased by it and just received what was from Him and what was from her. Later on, I got a phone call from my friend, who was upset that this woman had ‘taken over’ her meeting. She wanted to hear my take on what happened. I told her. She was still upset, saying how this woman ‘always does this.’ I told her to talk to her and help her grow in her gifting. She was adamant that she would not do that. So the mess remains, and offense and judgments increase. Not a healthy way to lead. 

DO NOT PLAY THE GAME

As a parent, how does this story make you feel? Johnny walks up to his younger sister, minding her own business, punches her, and then tells her she doesn’t belong in the family. OUCH! What if mom walked in and got all the other siblings against Johnny, making him feel like the outsider, as if his bad attitude meant he no longer belonged? This is the recipe for some serious family dysfunction and pain. Johnny’s behavior clearly needs to be addressed because it is not in alignment with God’s heart, but he is operating out of being an orphan and needs the love of a Father, not rejection. This would not be okay in our family and should not be okay in God’s family. Can’t you see? It is not a gay/straight, John/Beth, He said/She said, Kanye/Church, Pastor/Flock issue. This is a dividing issue from the enemy bent on destroying God’s family. DO NOT PLAY THE GAME. Do not pick sides. Do not pick a winner because if there is a winner, there must be a loser, and we do not treat family that way. 

There are only two camps of people – those who are Sons/Daughters and those who are still operating as orphans (even Christians can be orphans). If Johnny does not have eyes to see his sister’s worth, then he needs a revelation from God. The Bible says people cannot see because they have scales on their eyes. Isaiah 44:18 reads, “They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.” Your prayers that the scales from a brother’s eyes be removed will be more effective than your social media posts against him. If you are taking sides and have not prayed for the scales to be removed from his eyes, then you could very well be just as guilty of participating in dividing God’s family. We are ONE family. ONE Body. If a brother and sister argue, they need love, not sides. I ache over the words spoken against family members, but I want to be an agent of restoration (through prayer), not further division. Which side are you on? Neither! We are on the same side, serving the same God as ONE Body.

TURNING HEARTS

If the church is supposed to be run by mature believers who operate as spiritual mothers and fathers (not rockstars, not celebrities, not high and mighty religious leaders, not business managers, not spiritual orphans), then doesn’t this verse apply to churches too? Malachi 4:6 – “He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction” (NLT). “He will convince parents to look after their children and children to look up to their parents. If they refuse, I’ll come and put the land under a curse” (MSG).

What if part of the last days includes the hearts of those in the church being restored to the ‘parents’ of the church who have turned the children away? Or those in the church family who have judged and walked away in offense? Could you imagine the POWER in the Body coming back together to be united as His Bride to defeat the works of the enemy? Could you imagine the scores of people hurt in the church having moments of forgiveness and healing? Could you imagine the power of the blood when spiritual sons and fathers, daughters and mothers are restored? Could you imagine the joy on the Father’s face to see His children working things out? IF NOT… the Lord gives a promise of what will happen.