Our Freedom is a Choice
Key Concepts
- Since there are no victims in a ministry session, Jesus does not take people to memories, unlock doors, drive out demons or do other such things during a ministry session.
- The person being prayed with is in full executive control at all times in every session: No exception.
- There is no outside force keeping us from the truth that God desires to give us. If we will move in His direction, He will move in ours.
- God is God and can do anything He desires in any what that He decides to do it. At the same time it seems that He has chosen to respect our will and, “… He is a rewarder of those who seek Him….” (Heb. 11:6).
- If a person shuts down or becomes stuck in a ministry session, it’s always for the same reason: choice, based upon belief.
The Spirit will not violate our will to choose
No Rescue Needed
In the early years of TPM we mistakenly believed that the Spirit would take the person in the ministry session to the memory that needed to be considered. We even used to pray something like, “Lord, will you take “Mary” to the place where she first felt what she is feeling now?” We believed He would do this and even remove “obstacles” hindering the path, drive out demons before him, “unlock doors” that were believed to be hindering passageway, and perform other acts of rescuing as needed. Now we realize this is not so.
All of these things and more are directly determined by the person’s choices that are based upon what he believes. There is never any need for Jesus or anyone else to rescue a person in a ministry session from anything. The person will remember what he needs to remember when he is ready. Any and all obstacles before him are self-erected so he does not need Jesus to remove them. Even demons only do what they do by permission and according to the person’s willful participation. The person holds the keys to every locked door. The person is in full executive control at all times in every session: No exception.
God could violate our will in a ministry session by making us remember what we do not want to remember, feel what we don’t want to feel, and compel us to believe the truth; but He doesn’t do this.
God desires that we know the truth and freedom, but He will not force it upon us. There is no outside force keeping us from the truth that God desires to give us. If we will move in His direction, He will move in ours. James the Apostle said it this way, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (Jas. 4:8).
Early Year of Anxiety
I remember in the early years of doing this ministry (before understanding what you just read,) feeling anxiety stir up in me right after I would offer up a person’s belief to the Lord for His perspective. I remember even praying (begging) God to do something in that moment so the person might “hear” the truth. Somehow I believed that God needed to do something so that the person could receive the truth. Now I understand that God is not waiting for enough prays to be prayed before He grants truth, rather, He is waiting for the person to make the decision to move to the proper position so that they might receive. He is waiting on them to turn to Him, draw near, of position themselves to receive.
Now I understand that God is not waiting for enough prayers to be prayed before He illuminates the truth within their heart, rather, He is waiting for the mentee (the one being prayed with) to make the decision to move to the proper position so that the mentee might receive truth. God is waiting on the person turn to Him, draw near, to position themselves to receive the truth that the Spirit has for them.
This is not to say that God cannot do something unless we do something, for that is not so. God is not limited by any man’s doing or not doing. God is God and can do anything He desires in any what that He decides to do it. At the same time it seems that He has chosen to respect our will and, “… He is a rewarder of those who seek Him….” (Heb. 11:6).
Nothing outside ourselves is keeping us from the truth.
If we find ourselves shut down or stuck in a ministry session, it’s always for the same reason: our choice, based upon our belief. These particular beliefs (that have us stuck) are different from what we call heart or core beliefs that are at the root of our painful emotions. Heart or core belief will either be a statement of of identity or our state of being. Whereas, a belief that cause the ministry session to stall out is an intellectual reasoning that supports a self-devised solution to a perceived problem.
We refer to these beliefs as “solution beliefs”, since they are behind the behavior that is hindering our forward motion. We will feel what we need to feel, move forward, remember whatever we need to remember, etc., when we make the choice to do so. We will make that choice when the truth of God resolves these solution beliefs we are holding that are contrary to proceeding.
The very fact that we seek ministry is proof of our desire for freedom. It is our belief and choice that brought us this far; it will be our belief and choice that will move us onward to freedom and into the peace of Christ.
Will and Desire Not the same thing
In our mind-renewal journey, there is often a major difference between what we say we want and what we are actually choosing. This difference is determined by our will. We can say we desire to remember, we desire to feel our emotions, and we desire to move forward, yet we hit a wall. This wall is the outcome of our belief and our will. Our desire is to move forward to freedom; our will is to put up a wall and stop moving. Whatever happens in a ministry session is the direct outcome of our belief and choice.
Where we are and what we are doing in any given moment represents our will. Our desire is where we would like to be. Our will is the “chooser” that determines what we do and the choices we make are based upon our belief.
It is safe to assume that most of our choices are made intellectually, without any emotional influence. For example, the choice to get in my car and drive to work each day is primarily a mental decision made without any particular emotion being involved. However, more of our decisions than we realize are motivated by the emotions arising from our core beliefs. Subtle decisions that are emotionally influenced are made throughout our day and they go unnoticed: deciding not to return a phone call, choosing to avoid talking with a particular person, or putting off some task day after day that you cannot seem to get motivated to do or even deciding where we might sit in a room full of people. Unless we take a moment to think about about why we’re doing or not doing something, and allow ourselves to feel what we are feeling, such core beliefs may go unnoticed.
Believing with the Heart
A core belief is one that we believe in our hearts to be the truth. This belief may or may not be in line with what we believe with our minds. We might intellectually believe that God is our provider, and may even quote the Bible verse that says, “My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory…” (Phil. 4:19). Yet we continue to worry and be anxious over our finances. If we try to obey the intellectual belief that’s in conflict with our lie-based core belief, an emotional struggle will ensue. Our core belief will pull us back and make it difficult to walk in the truth. When we try to apply the intellectual belief, our feelings of worry, doubt, fear, anxiety, and the like will be stirred up. What we believe in our hearts will express itself through whatever we feel, overriding what we know intellectually.
During a ministry session, our will is revealed by the choices we make. If we believe something that keeps us from moving forward, feeling something, or remembering, we will find ourselves stuck and the session will come to a halt. This occurs because we have chosen to stop moving forward, not because we are a victim of anything or anyone. This is the “belief and choice” principle. It can be very frustrating when we desire to move forward and be free, yet our belief keeps us “stuck.” This is where we will need God’s intervention of truth.
Moving to the Right Position
If we want freedom, then we must identify, own, and admit what we believe. Our negative emotions reflect our lie-based core beliefs. These beliefs can be replaced with truth from the Spirit. In order for this to occur, we need to position ourselves to receive His truth. First, instead of resisting what we feel and denying our motives, we need to be honest about what we feel and why we do what we do. This is taking ownership or responsibility. Until we do this, we will remain stuck and freedom will elude us.
If we acknowledge our emotions, connect with them, follow them to the belief that is producing them, and ask the Lord for His truth, we can be free indeed. We will then be able, without effort, to interpret correctly the circumstances that previously evoked negative emotions. When our belief is in line with the Lord’s perspective, we will walk in the Spirit and experience the peace of Christ. The fruit of His Spirit will be evident in our lives.
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