Obstacles to City Transformation

11295696_968829226513518_6763007680125419221_n“The great work of intercession is needed for the returning of the Lord. It is here that the coming revival must find its strength. Let there be, with every minister and worker, ‘great searching of heart’ (Judges 5:16), as to whether they are ready to give as much time and strength to prayer as God desires. Let them, even as they are, in public, leaders of their larger or smaller circles, give themselves, in secret, to take their place in the front ranks of the great intercession host.” Andrew Murray

Let us each seek the Lord personally and corporately to remove the obstacles in our lives to city transformation.  Below are common obstacles to see transformation in our churches, cities and nations taken from the Transformation video by George Otis, Jr. called The Quickening. Pray through these obstacles in the Church and know that God will break through and that His bride will arise to her destiny!

Common Obstacles

  • Theological Misperceptions – Some people think that there is not much we can do to prepare for transformation. They fail to account for 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Isaiah 62:7. If we do what God has commanded us to do, then He will do anything he wants to do but if we don’t, we are being disobedient. The biggest obstacle is us. There is a fatalism that has come upon the Church.  God is intentional.  He has plans and purposes. God has a part to play, and we do as well. It’s a laboring together with Him.
  • Reliance on programs – We take matters into our own hands.  We think man has the answer. We seduce ourselves in figuring out a formula and miss real faith that is transformational. God transforms. We are program-orientation because of our impatience and pride. We try to organize our way to success. We don’t ask God for direction.  We must not seek man’s way for an answer.  We must spend time on our knees. We are missing the counsel of God. Wait in His presence and seek Him. God is not into programs and planning. Guard against the seductivity of programs and plans. We get entrapped in achievements. If we want to get to transformation, He must first come here.
  • Lowered expectations – We re-define transformation and accept lesser substitutes.  But we may miss real transformation. We become self-reliant. One of the greatest hindrances to transformation is apathy, complacency, and luke-warmness. We must have high goals because there is so much more God wants to do.  The western world is the least mature in the body of Christ. We have humanized the gospel. We become so familiar with hearing about God. We teach more than follow Jesus. We have no expectation of the supernatural, but God’s methods often cut across the ground of human logic.
  • Spiritually blind – He wants to know why we ask Him to come? Is it because we cannot bare to live without Him?  It’s about Him and to see God as King of Kings. We must allow Him to cleanse our hearts and check our motives. We must be careful that there are no hidden agendas or selfish ambition in us.  We must pray and seek Him and see what He wants to say in our lives. It’s not about the city ultimately, but about the Kingdom and King. The heart of Christian faith is intimacy. God wants to reveal his secrets. It’s about the presence of God where we realize how much we need him and long for his presence. He responds to a pure heart.
  • Ignorance of the past – Sometimes there is a lack of diligence in seeking the reason for lack of blessing. We must map the history of the area. We are oblivious to the depth of God’s feeling of unresolved corporate sin. Our past iniquity can be dealt with only by informed prayer and repentance. He has conditions of blessing. We must get rid of whatever offends God.  Improving our understanding of the past leads us to identify with God’s choices and covenants.
  • Lack of unity – Our western organization is an attempt to do unity. True unity goes beyond that and is a byproduct of humility. The root of our behavior is pride which God hates and resists. The only antidote is a fresh revelation of our hearts and his body. Unity is a revelation of the spirit of God that sees that only together can we get the results that God wants. I need my brother, and I can’ do it alone. We must give ourselves away to one another and to Him. We must look at ourselves in a kingdom connection. It is in all of us, not one of us.
  • Lack of hunger- Most of us are exceedingly busy. We live congested lives, and our thoughts race. The people of God are very distracted. We are so busy pursuing the world. The bride hardly speaks to Jesus.  Transformation and revival is not something we fit in, but it is born out of passion. We must remove ourselves from the distractions of our culture and get over the background noise. We miss God. Do I want a comfortable Christian life or God’s presence? We must have passion for the spirit of God. It is time to seek the Lord, and this is the message for the church today.

The time has come to lift the bar of expectations!  Transformation is attainable for God. This is the heartbeat of God, not the work of man. It’ the finger of God. He says “If you call on me, I will answer.” He takes care of the problems.  The church becomes a beacon of light and hope. This is revival.

The Church will Arise

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3

When darkness is covering the earth and increasing, the glory of the Lord is rising on His people. “The church that is about to arise will be more at home in the heavenly realm than the earthly. There is a door standing open for us in heaven, and there is an invitation for us to go through it. Those who answer this call will be caught up into the Spirit, with the result that they will always be seeing the One who sits on the throne. This is the ultimate purpose of all true, prophetic revelation – seeing the glorious, risen Christ and the authority that He now has over all. If we really believe this in our hearts, it will change the way we live. We will be radically different.

It is time that we live a life that really shows that heaven is real and that our King is seated on the throne, far above all.

“The wake up call is now being sounded for the greatest force for truth and righteousness that has yet been released on the earth. It is now time to show the earth that heaven exists. All that we know on earth is but a shadow of the reality that is in heaven. We are called to bring reality to earth so that men will seek God.” Quotes by Rich Joyner

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *