Beware of the spirit of entitlement…
Run-ins the Spirit of entitlement…During the corporate 40 day fast in March and April, we had been praying for several men in our midst who needed a miracle. Many were doing the fast on water only. Hopes were high for an outbreak of major healing miracles and a season of major revival. There was no major revival at IHOP-KC, but instead, there was a feeling of oppression. Immediately after the fast (from April through about June) the level of enthusiasm for sustained intercession by much of the IHOP-KC community greatly waned for several weeks with prayer meeting attendance significantly below average. What caused this dynamic?
Over the last few months, I’ve had some very negative run-ins with this problem on a personal level. However, through the trouble God in his grace has been exposing a major obstacle to the release of true apostolic ministry.
One of the key problems that I have discovered that afflicts people is what I will term “the entitlement spirit”. Before I go into how pervasive this problem is, I think that defining it would be helpful: An “Entitlement spirit” is simply selfish pride manifesting in anger or bitterness when we do not get what we think we deserve (real or perceived). What is really, really scary about this diabolical ploy is that we cannot perceive it…until we find ourselves blind-sided with anger and offense arising in our hearts due to injustice done against us (real or perceived)!
The spirit of entitlement in our culture…
The spirit of entitlement is deeply imbedded into our fallen nature and society. We are bombarded with its messages every day: “Have it your way”. “What you want is what you get.” “Get weather information at your fingertips.” “What’s your sleep number?” There are custom-made golf clubs. We have custom made teddy bears. A New York hotel has (for a very heavy price) custom beds and pillows. Sonic, a fast food restaurant has 168,000+ drink combinations and is running a contest. Even Nike now has consoles where you can custom-design your own tennis shoes.
The Government calls social security and our welfare system an entitlement program. The key buzz word around the globe these days is “rights”- animal rights, gay rights, women’s rights, prisoner rights, religious rights, logging rights, oil rights; rights, rights, rights! I recently heard a report that under the banner of “diversity” in Holland, that there is a political party called “pedophilia”. This political party desires to make underage sex (12-18 years old) legal-all in the name of freedom from “parental oppression”. All of this is being done in the name of correcting the “injustice” of not getting what I feel I deserve.
Please understand that I am for boundaries and standards that promote biblical human honor and dignity. God made human beings in His image and has put immeasurable value on each and every person. Anything we can do to improve the quality of life for the poor and disadvantaged (according to biblical moral standards) in the name of Jesus is honorable and glorious. What I am against is the spirit of entitlement- a manifestation of selfish pride, operating in the earth.
The spirit of entitlement in the Church…
In my short season at the International House of Prayer, I have witnessed many people who have fasted, prayed, or served in an extraordinary manner for a few months. Yet a year or so later, these people want nothing to do with prayer and fasting. People are left scratching their heads, asking “what happened?” I suspect the spirit of entitlement is a key malevolent factor.
The spirit of entitlement is pervasive within us as believers. So many of us as believers play little games with God in our hearts such as, “If I pray enough…If I serve enough, then I will break through and surely God will give me____ because I will deserve it”. On top of this, I have heard many sermons on television through the years re-enforcing this fallacy. I’ve heard many a Televangelist proclaim, “give a certain amount of money and you will receive the 100-fold blessing and a multiplication of finances”. The problem with the spirit of entitlement is that we don’t think we have problems with it until:
We feel “led by the LORD” to take drastic action in prayer, fasting, giving or service. We list our good motives for doing so, not knowing that a key underlying motive is that I want money, honor, comfort, and power for myself from God as the result of doing this thing. Expecting God to move decisively on our behalf, sometimes the exact opposite of what we wanted happens.
Our faith in God’s goodness towards us is now being shaken to the core and we are angry and bitter at God. Sadly, most people draw back from “radical Christianity” at this point and settle for “a form of godliness, but denying its power”. Worse yet, these offended believers now warn others not to be radical for God or else they will suffer the same fate. I believe that it is this spirit of entitlement (in reality, selfish pride manifesting in anger/offense over the perceived injustice of not getting from God what I think I deserve) that will cause a great falling away.
Overcoming the entitlement spirit and Correcting the greatest injustice of all
The Spirit of entitlement is perhaps the largest barrier to the release of true Apostolic ministry. In Church history, James, John, Peter, Paul and other apostles spoke the word of God with the virtue of heaven accompanied by signs and wonders. Surely for their time waiting on God and agonizing in intercession for that others would live eternally with God in joy, they deserve highest honor and comfort by all present in their day.
In response to their acts of mercy, they were all robbed, beaten, imprisoned, and abused. In response to this mistreatment, they reacted in kindness and mercy- the truest sign of genuine apostolic ministry. Paul said of the apostles, “When we are cursed, we bless, when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly… (1 Corinthians 4:12-13 NIV)”. Only someone truly free of the mindset of entitlement could ever react like this.
So what can we do about this monster within? In coming to the prayer room at IHOP-KC, I often listen to the following chorus based on Ephesians 2:5-10 by Justin Rizzo, one of the main worship leaders:
You owe me nothing, I deserve hell
You owe me nothing, but you’ve given me mercy
Our God has given us a gift of salvation that we will for all of eternity discover its implications. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). However in the midst of the greatest sacrifice of all time, we need to recognize the greatest injustice of all-time.
In Revelation 4-5; we find all of heaven engaged in a giant intercessory worship meeting. Scripture describes the throne, the four living creatures, multitudes of angels and 24 elders all participating in intercessory worship. The question needs to be asked of human beings, with all their longings fulfilled in God, why are they still praying and interceding? This is a dangerous question to ask!
At a contemplative prayer meeting hosted by Dave and Cheryl Doria, the Holy Spirit spoke of this continuing great injustice: “The greatest injustice is that My Son is not loved.” One Moravian missionary got hold of this reality and said, “I must win for the Lamb the reward of His suffering” as he sold himself into slavery to preach to other slaves before grieving loved ones. In the last days, God will finally have a people free of the spirit of entitlement who live out the dream of the Father’s heart in fullness.
posted by 神的僕人Mak @ 12:00 PM
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