New Operating Systems Require an Upgrade
There is an operating system and plane that those who've been created and called as forerunners run upon. That path and wavelength have rarely felt like they fit in the world, and have almost always been far ahead of their time. Like a new software update for an older phone or computer, the two just haven't been able to sync up yet, because the appointed time had not come. That's all starting to change in 2025.
Often, to get the new update, one has to upgrade their entire phone, otherwise apps won't work without the new system, and the system won't work with an old structure. There is a frequency that forerunners have been running on that much of the world, and Church, couldn't read yet. But in 2025 the world around us is getting an upgrade. The frequency that the forerunners have seen, heard, and run on will suddenly not only fit but be vital and needed.
There's an overhaul going on around us and in us to prepare for this upgrade. In some places the system has crashed; in others it is going even slower than before. People may feel like they've lost everything in the change. But no matter what you are going through, or whatever you see going on all around you, God has His ways of turning it around into a divine set up.
God has positioned a trap door in the same corner that the enemy has backed you into. It will open up as a chute that will send you forward and position you in ways you could have never imagined. As for all the upheaval required to get ready for an upgrade, the forerunners who haven't fit for a long time will suddenly find they are carrying a piece of the answer that the appointed time beckons for.
The Violent Take It by Force
As I ponder the change of such a system, a verse and a quote come to heart: "... the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." (Matthew 11:12).
This can feel like a difficult verse to embrace. Truly, the Spirit can use this verse to call us beyond the passivity that falls repeatedly back into old structures, trying to do a new thing in an old way, just because we often don't know any other way. But as children of the Kingdom of God, we must rise up and take ground from the enemy, and that usually requires force, as well as our authority.
The enemy doesn't just hand new ground over because we ask for it; he doesn't respond to politeness. We have to use all the non-carnal tools of power, force, and authority that Jesus has already given us to break into the old structure, take ground, rebuild, and set it up to operate for the new system that He has put within us. (Photo via Pixabay)
The quote I'm hearing comes from an old book by A.W. Tozer called Paths to Power, where he says, "The greatest proof of our weakness these days is that there is no longer anything terrible or mysterious about us. The Church has been explained, the surest evidence of her fall. We now have little that cannot be accounted for by psychology and statistics. In that early Church they met together on Solomon's porch, and so great was the sense of God's presence that 'no man durst join himself to them.' The world saw fire in that bush and stood back in fear; but no one is afraid of ashes. Today they dare come as close as they please. They even slap the professed Bride of Christ on the back and get coarsely familiar. If we ever again impress unsaved men with a wholesome fear of the supernatural we must have once more the dignity of the Holy Spirit; we must know again that awe-inspiring mystery which comes upon men and churches when they are full of the power of God." (Tozer, A.W. "Power in Action." In Paths to Power, page 11. Christian Publications, Inc.)
The Terrible Church?
It almost sounds terrible in itself to mention being "terrible" as a positive thing. But there's important context to how we use this word in this way. It makes me think of Zechariah 1:21, when the enemy is coming from all corners of the earth, seeking to scatter God's people, but the Lord raises up "craftsmen" of all people with the expressed intent to "terrify" the enemy. The new update we are getting ready to walk in should terrify the enemy. If our "ministry," or just our love in general, doesn't "terrify" the enemy, then we need an upgrade.
Our new system—which the forerunners have seen, heard, or felt pieces of but have never fully implemented themselves—is so new and requires such a new wineskin that it will likely terrify many of us; because as much as we pray and hope for change, we're not always ready for its reality. Change can seem scary, but the right kind at the right time is oh so sweet!
Forerunners have been equipped in the "how" to implement something new, not because they have all the answers in hand, but because they have learned how to walk in the Kingdom tension of being misunderstood, of transition, of change, and so much more! It's not always just what a forerunner carries or does but the process that they have gone through in their early time frames, or pioneering pursuits, that has most equipped them for the "terrible" moments of unknown mystery which change requires. It's a powerful thing to know how to securely and freely walk into the misunderstood or the unknown.
The Invitation of Mystery
And that is where the mystery part comes in. For many, if not most, this might be the most "terrible" part. We are often a people or a culture that likes tangible results, clarity, knowledge, black and white answers and, probably most of all, the security we get from those things. But a forerunner system has been built on the hearts of the misunderstood, and their knees have been strengthened from feeble to ready—ready to lead us down the halls of mystery so we can all help this new system go live!
Forerunners are trained in mystery so they can help lift the torch and light that will allow others to get beyond the blockade that mystery might be for them, because their part is needed too, and forerunners help prepare that way.
"Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:16–18) (Photo via Unsplash)
Just because the veil is lifted for us as Believers, or even as leaders, doesn't mean that the path ahead is clear, known, or explained. We are still in the halls of mystery, going from glory to glory to glory, both on the inside and on the outside. As we embrace the mystery by keeping our eyes on Jesus, we ourselves are being transformed from glory to glory. As we are increasingly transformed, we are now able to be conduits to the world around us, being transformed from glory to glory.
Mystery is a vital part of the Kingdom. It's not just a means to an end; it is a constant. Anytime it's not a constant, then chances are we are living from a world or a mindset of "figured out," and that's an even more terrible or scary place to try to live from, let alone lead from.
Proverbs 25:2 tells us, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." Mystery is a set-up, an invitation into the something more that we've been hoping would come to us. But this new structure, this new system and upgrade, can't and won't happen without embracing the mystery, because mystery requires us to cling to Emmanuel, "God With Us." And there is nothing more important for this new plane we're about to walk than the reality of God with us. "With" is the most powerful word we have, and the mystery of His new thing helps us necessitate the power of that "with" in our lives.
Working with Fresh Oil
Most of all, most importantly, this system works on fresh oil. There's no way around it. Saying we need to run on fresh oil might sound old school for a new technology, but the true new thing of God CANNOT run apart from the oil of intimacy and His presence. That's what happens in the "with," and it's how you get to a new system. Just ask Enoch. He lived a whole different system than everyone else, and his testimony was that he pleased God because he walked by faith with the greatest mystery Himself, the Great I AM.
Enoch lived off a different oil, a different system, so much so that he did not taste death; he was simply taken. Enoch's system is the kind of system we're called to bring to life here on Earth as it is in Heaven. We're called to bring a structure and system that is built out of people who walk in such fresh oil that the fragrance, structure, and "intangible and tangible" that they leave behind do not and will not end. Such a people are those who live and build "on Earth as it is in Heaven."
But it all comes back to the oil. If you are ready to move forward in this next season, in this appointed time of who the Father has created you to be, check your oil. I'm checking mine too. It is, will be, and always has been the source of the new system that is updating now. It may sound simple, but that's why we must not despise the day of small beginnings. The oil that we have may seem small, but a whole other world—and unending Kingdom—is ready to come alive from within it. So, first, let's dive into the oil!
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Joey LeTourneau
The Occular Institute | Freedom U | LeTourneau Creative
Email:Â joey@occular.co
Websites: letourneaucreative.com |
theFreedomU.org
Joey and Destiny LeTourneau are parents of eight, and grandparents of one precious granddaughter. They are visionaries and pioneers who have lived and traveled all over the world, helping transform communities, cultures, and nations by empowering people to discover and live out their unique, God-given purpose, and work with both established and emerging leaders. They have written a number of books and lead an organization called Freedom U, with bases in various parts of the world. They work with The Occular Institute to create community transformation through economic innovation, and have a creative company where they bring prophetic Kingdom messages to life to empower the next generation and their families.
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