 |
| "I hear more and more prophetic voices calling for an alignment of individual hearts, ministries and churches with the Father's heart for this day and hour." |
‘They have left the straightway and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam, son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness” (2 Pet. 2:15).The Apostle Peter describes a situation in the early church where teachers and prophets had come out of alignment with Truth and wandered off the ‘straight way’. While some teaching and prophecy are certainly areas of concern in the church today, God also desires an alignment of believer’s hearts into a place of unity, to advance His kingdom.
Alignment is the position or placement of a line, specifically a straight line between two points. I hear more and more prophetic voices calling for an alignment of individual hearts, ministries and churches with the Father’s heart for this day and hour. We could also call this unity, agreement, or one accord, a straight line to the Father and His kingdom.
So why does Peter bring Balaam into his description of those who are not lined up with Truth? In Numbers 22-24 we read a rather long account of Balaam, a seer or prophet, in Midian, partnering with Balak the Moabite King. Balaam seems to do the right thing outwardly some of the time. However he also withholds some of what God tells him and continues to try to please Balak. Balaam has a desire to make the King happy. The King affirms him, telling him how valuable he is, that he is key in spiritual things, and that he is a spiritual man. Balaam continues to inquire of God looking for some way to please the King. We also find that Balaam had resorted to sorcery (Num. 24:1) and taught Balak how to entice Israel to sin (Rev. 2:14).
So we see the way of Balaam was duplicity, literally facing two directions. He outwardly spoke the right thing, yet inwardly was looking for and desiring something else. He was trying to please God and Balak and could not be aligned with both. He had a prophetic gift that was directed toward whomever he could please, both Balak and God. While on the surface it seemed that he did the right thing, his heart was facing a different direction…the way of pleasing Balak. He was enticed by Balak with affirming words of how important he was to the King. This was a tempting place in his soul, even though he declared with his words some right things he received from God.
It is critical in this day and hour that believers come into Kingdom alignment. In my experience as a leader in government and in ministry, I witness people saying one thing, even acting the right way in outward compliance, yet inwardly resisting Truth, either in denial of or withholding their real desires and beliefs. The first level of Kingdom alignment is in individual hearts, an alignment of the soul with the born-again spirit and the Truth of His Word. The Kingdom of God is a place where soul and spirit are in unity, lined up facing the same direction, or ‘one faced’. The power of individual alignment is magnified when experienced in the larger context of a church body. It is further magnified when churches and ministries come into alignment with the Father’s heart and His kingdom purpose.
Alignment in a straightway is happening powerfully in many Asian nations. We are seeing the seeds of alignment being sown in the church in America. Those seeds must now take root and come forth. I pray that individuals and leaders in ministry respond to conviction of the Holy Spirit and come into alignment with the Father, His Word and His purposes in this day and hour.
Acknowledge and repent of any area of your life that is not aligned with the Kingdom. Consider those areas of your life you don’t want people to see, the places ruled by self. Repent of those places you withhold from the Father. Align with His kingdom, with a kingdom leader and a kingdom ministry.
