Recently, I was blessed to attend the Killing Kryptonite tour with John Bevere in Peoria, IL. We had an intimate Question & Answer Session with him where I asked him the question, “What was your preparation process like for the various platforms that God had for you because I’ve noticed that it seems as if God will hide those he has called for a season?”
John began to share that it was through remaining under authority and serving in the house of the Lord even through suffering, and being done wrong. He shared that it was his endurance through those things that God used to build his character.
“God cares more about your character than what you do for him.” – John Bevere
John mentioned some things that he had gone through at his church. He prayed–asking the Lord if he should leave, and the Lord’s answer was to stay and so he stayed and was refined in the process. John shared saying, “Relationships and organizations are messy, and God knows it. Don’t run from the circumstances that grow you.”
He further elaborated on how he found himself in a season where he woke up in pain, went throughout the day in pain, and went to bed in pain (See Jeremiah 15:18). He asked the Lord what was going on. God shared with him that he was in the process of dying. Not physically dying of course, but dying to himself and to his will and such. He continued stating that God wants us to live in such a position that we live almost as if we are dead but alive.
For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. – 2 Corinthians 4:11
The above scripture provides some brief insight into what John was sharing. When God calls us to die to ourselves meaning our will, wants and way of doing things; it isn’t, at that point, about us, but God’s glory.
He went on stating that a person knows when they are dead because they no longer feel the pain of dying. We love perfectly when we aren’t operating out of seeking our own wills. We aren’t easily offended and do not operate out of fear when we are dead. We live in a place of trust in the Lord.
Suffering under authority brings authority. John shared how a minister came to him and shared that he must have suffered through a lot of things to teach in such authority. Enduring through suffering for Christ brings authority. He added that we should not look for our own wilderness as to search for suffering, but that the Holy Spirit would lead us to the wilderness designed for us. Similar to how the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. During the wilderness experience, character and greater authority are birthed.
Another gentleman asked John a question about writing, and John shared how he did not want to be a writer, but two prophets came to him giving him a word warning that if he did not write what God gave him to write, he would have to give an account to God.
John began writing out of fear for God and obedience to God. I think these truths are so important to share and operate by especially for those coming up in my generation and the next generation afterward. Sometimes, we can do things out of obedience to God and fear for God, yet we don’t see a whole lot of fruit from it in the form of likes, comments, or a great following online. It could be that like John shared, we are in a refining process, and that is a part of the process. God could be grooming our character for his purpose, and we just need to stay where God has placed us and to remain faithful
Listen to the portion of the Q&A session that I was able to record on my phone below:
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