Thursday, August 24, 2017

God with You at Work ... dreaming with God

By Dale Shumaker

God With You at Work was written by Andy Mason, so we all can experience the presence and power of God with us in our life and business. God sets us on a mission. As we live in Him on that mission we live with the experience of God with us. In his book, he puts to practice the power of the Testimony. A person's testimony is like God's resume in his life. As we develop our awareness of God living constantly in God's Presence, we see His power at work around us. When two are in agreement, it creates a power.
"Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16) His Presence is there among us, where at least two are in agreement. Andy says as you read the book he is that agreeing partner with us.

With God’s Spirit clothing me I can do anything while having an abundance of peace. This is the secret source of all success... being clothed in His Spirit. He sets us on a mission that may seem impossible. The question is will we receive it. And know it can be done as we learn to rest in His Presence.

"You will do greater things," Jesus admonished. The secret source to everything Jesus and the Apostles did was their connection they had to the Person of God.

"My presence will go with you and I will live from rest" (Exodus 33:13).
Our performance is based on rest. We live in a performance of rest.

Our focus is our identity with Jesus Christ and not on our performance. Many live for what they can do, not who they are. Our identity is who God says I am. Our value rests on that God is with us. Our anxiety is based on an inferior Kingdom, whereas when our Identity is with God and His Kingdom we don't strive but function in a performance of rest. We seek His intimacy which yields His power.

We are sons and daughters of God. We are joint heirs with Him and we live in that relationship. This inheritance is a gift from God and it can
only be received, not earned. It's from intimacy, connection and a confident dependence on Him. Those who live without that intimate connection are like orphans, on their own without a God of love and power to help. They are disconnected from His Spirit, feel they must earn everything ("if it's going to be, it's up to me" mindset). Since they earned it, it belongs to them, so they must protect it. This is the worldly view of business and possessions. It causes strife, anxiety, discontent, bitterness and other negative human emotions.

With us being joint heirs of God's Kingdom, His Children, we feel part of His family, and very large one beyond us. We feel connected to God and family. So we receive His Gifts and Blessings. We don't strive but live in peace and joy. Which leads us to give more, which creates an increase in our lives and those around us. Success is no longer my independence and ability to protect what I have. It is now seeing others join me in my momentum and my desire to see others go farther than me, that they go beyond me. Jesus did not come just for you to live free and die in peace. But so that you live in His Presence and Power… so that you do greater things.

Instead of striving, being envious and jealous, wanting to beat everyone, we live in love, joy, peace, patience, long suffering, as we live in His Rest. Resting in Him creates a paradox. We don't feel the stress of effort, but accomplish more. We don't try to protect our own, but give freely and freely we receive, even more... pressed down and overflowing. Being tied into His Kingdom, our inheritance is beyond what we can think or imagine.

Dream with God. Dreamers are born to demonstrate the impossible. The competitive advantage we have with the world's principle is Christ within. "Christ in us"(Col. 1:27). Do not be lured by the principles and philosophies of man, which are not according to Christ (Col. 2:8). Christ came to demonstrate what a human can do in complete partnership with a limitless God. It's a personal relationship we have, a covenant relationship. When we limit ourselves to a set of rules, we diminish the whole benefit of why Christ came to earth.

It's not about what I can get, but what I can give. The gift of Sonship gives us access to the limitless supply in order to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

We have permission to dream with God.
We have permission to succeed.
We have permission to demonstrate how good God really is. How much more will our Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:11).

The process of dreaming with God.
1. Intimacy
Have a personal experiential relationship with the Father of Creation. Set time apart to spend time with Him, adjusting our schedules to do so.

2. Ask, dream, imagine, create
Take time to ask to dream with Him. Setting our thoughts on Heaven. Meditate on who He is. Meditate on who He says we are.

3. Receive
As sons and daughters of God we live from inheritance rather than having to earn something. What would our life, business, mission look like if it were "God-sized"?

4. Risk, do it
Often times our dreams may be large and often overwhelming compared to where we are now. It may seem impossible.
We start with partnering with God. What does our intended outcome look like? What do we start with? What do we have in hand right now, resources at our disposal right now?
Take that first step. Do it again. Take another step, then another, and another. We are there for each other and help each other.

When we live our dreams with God, life is released. The process of dreaming with God starts and ends with intimacy, our intimate relationship with our Father in Heaven.

As Mason wraps up the book, he addresses the Supernatural Keys of Success. Most believers have been happy to quote Scripture, improve character, not realizing there is a whole new power we can tap into. There are three keys.

1. By the Blood of the Lamb.
Christ's death and resurrection also puts His Power back into us. Everywhere you go you can know His will is on earth "as in Heaven." We are the enforcers of Heaven on earth.

2. By the Word of Our Testimony.
Whenever we hear someone's testimony, we know He wants to do it through you again. It's not just one person's testimony but for us too...
and He wants to do it again through us. When we recall or repeat what He has done, He wants to show up and do it again.
We get more of what we repeat. When we repeat bad news, we provoke more of that. When we repeat His Good News, and someone's testimony, we get more of that.

3. By Living Selflessly.
We shift our definition of success from ourselves to others. Winning is not about what we get, but what we give. It's about advancing His Kingdom. When we seek His Kingdom first, we see the things added to us, that others strive for. He gives back to us more than we can imagine. Elevate the status of people around you. Promote their dreams.

God with You at Work is part of Andy Mason's Heaven in Business series.
His website is

Andy's view is very similar to how I see the marketplace advancing and the Kingdom of Heaven advancing. My theme line on my Spirit Savvy Network business card is "Invigorating the Kingdom of Heaven in the Marketplace."

You also see in Living Your Magnificent Mission life course which I developed (about living out your God-called mission in the marketplace) a parallel of emphasis and themes.

It's interesting how the Holy Spirit gives people who don't know each other or collaborated with each other similar themes, principles and perspectives. To me this says, God is up to something and we all play a key role in it happening.


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