Before every great revival, someone prayed.

In 1727, a village of refugees in Saxony could not stop fighting. Within months they were on their knees, and they started a prayer watch that ran for a hundred years. In 1857, six men joined a lonely businessman for a noon prayer meeting in New York. Within six months, ten thousand were praying in that city every day. In 1949, two elderly sisters on the Isle of Lewis prayed through the night, and a whole island turned to God.

They Prayed and God Moved tells seventeen of these stories, in the order they happened:

• The Moravians and the hundred-year prayer watch

• John Wesley’s warmed heart and the weekly class meeting

• Jeremiah Lanphier and the Fulton Street prayer meeting

• Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival

• Pandita Ramabai and the girls of Mukti

• William Seymour and Azusa Street

• The Pyongyang Revival of 1907

• The East African Revival and the people who walked in the light

• The Hebrides Revival

• Jim and Carol Cymbala and the Brooklyn Tabernacle

You will also meet Edwards and Whitefield, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, Aimee Semple McPherson, Oswald J. Smith, and Kathryn Kuhlman.

If you are hungry for God to move in your church, your city, or your own heart, start here. These people prayed. Read what God did.

The Kindle edition is available now. The paperback, hardcover, and audiobook come out November 5.

Get it on Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/02pwfB2d

Listen on Spotify:

If you get your copy this week and leave an honest review, you help more people find it.

Thank you!

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The Voice That Sounds Like You

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Subject: They Prayed and God Moved is out now on Kindle

My new book, They Prayed and God Moved, is out now on Kindle. The paperback, hardcover, and audiobook follow on November 5.

Every great revival started with someone praying. Most of them were not famous. A shoemaker and a weaver in Scotland asked for a sermon, and thousands came. A plumber who could not read became one of the most powerful preachers of his century. A group of women knelt in a cottage on the Hebrides and prayed through the night. A pastor’s wife in Brooklyn gathered nine untrained singers on a Tuesday night and started a church.

The book tells 30 true stories like these, from the Moravians in 1727 to Pensacola in 1995. At more than 400 pages, it follows the people who prayed, what happened when God moved, and what lasted afterward.

Here is what you will find inside:

- 30 true stories, told in one clear line from 1727 to now

- Ordinary people first, not just famous names

- Facts checked against diaries, letters, and eyewitness accounts

- A prayer and a next step at the end of every chapter

- A Guide for Groups, so you can read it with your small group or church

You do not have to be a church historian to read it. You only have to be hungry for God to move again.

How to get it:

- Kindle ebook, available now: https://amzn.asia/d/02pwfB2d

- Paperback and hardcover, November 5 on Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/02pwfB2d

- Audiobook, November 5 on Spotify:

If you would like to help, the best thing you can do is get your copy this week, tell a friend, and leave an honest review on Amazon. Reviews help other readers find the book.

Thank you for praying with me.

Glenn Bleakney

Awake Nations

P.S. Reading with a group? Forward this email to your leaders. The Guide for Groups at the back has questions for every story.

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Drawing from Paul’s missionary journeys, Jeremiah’s encounter with the remnant of Judah, and personal experiences, we examined five essential witnesses for discerning God’s direction: Scripture, the peace of Christ, godly counsel, circumstances, and fruit over time.

The central challenge was to surrender our preferred outcomes and become genuinely willing to follow God’s will, even when it differs from our plans. Participants were encouraged to complete the Door Diagnostic in their workbooks, identify whether they need to persevere, pause, or pivot, and determine one practical step of obedience.

Key takeaway: Don’t allow fear, disappointment, or circumstances alone to interpret your future. Seek God’s wisdom, discern His direction, and move forward one faithful step at a time. What looks like rejection may actually be God’s redirection for your protection.

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Listen to almost any conference stage, podcast or pastors’ interview today and you will hear the same vocabulary. Great leaders cast vision. Great leaders build teams. Great leaders know when to make the hard call. The phrase is so common that few people stop to ask where it came from, or whether Jesus ever used it.

Recently I watched an interview with a worship leader who has been open about his struggles with faith. He came across as sincere, and I respected his honesty. What troubled me was the conversation around him. He spends time with pastors from the same stream of the church, and again and again the talk came back to great leaders: what great leaders do, how great leaders think, the aspiration to become a great leader. The longer I listened, the more uneasy I became, and I wanted to understand why.

I have searched the Gospels for Jesus training His disciples to become great leaders, and I cannot find it. What I find is the opposite. Every time His followers reached for greatness, He took the word out of their hands and gave them a towel. That difference is more than vocabulary. It shapes how we see ourselves, how we treat the people entrusted to us, and, I believe, how many of us fall.

The Question the Disciples Kept Asking

The desire to be great is older than the leadership industry. The Twelve argued about it on the road to Capernaum (Mark 9:33–34). James and John sent their mother to ask for the seats at His right and left (Matthew 20:20–21). They were still arguing about it at the Last Supper, hours before the cross (Luke 22:24).

Jesus never once answered the question on their terms. He did not give them a ranking, a pathway or a set of habits for rising higher. He redefined greatness so completely that it could only be reached by going down:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25–28, ESV)

Notice what Jesus places on the other side of the line. The model He rejects is the ruler of the nations, the one whose greatness is measured by how many people sit under his authority. That is precisely the model much leadership language assumes. When the church speaks of great leaders, it is often asking the disciples’ question again, and Jesus’ answer has not changed: “It shall not be so among you.”

When Jesus Said “Leader”

It would be easy to claim that Jesus never spoke about leaders at all, but that is not quite accurate, and the truth is more striking. At the Last Supper, with the disciples arguing about rank around the table, Jesus said:

“But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” (Luke 22:26–27, ESV)

The word the ESV renders “leader” is hēgoumenos. It is at home in contexts of ruling, guiding and going before others, and it appears several times in the New Testament. Matthew uses it of the ruler who would come from Bethlehem (Matthew 2:6). Luke uses it of Judas and Silas, “leading men among the brothers” (Acts 15:22). Hebrews uses it three times for those who lead the church (Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24). The early church plainly had leaders, and the apostles were not shy about naming them.

What stands out is how Jesus Himself handles the word. In the Gospels this is the one time He uses it, and He does so only to bend it into the shape of a servant.

He then points to Himself. The Lord of glory is in the room as the one who waits on the table. In a few minutes He will be on His knees with a basin, washing the feet of men who were arguing about which of them was greatest (John 13:4–5). He did not give them a lecture on leadership. He gave them an example and said, “you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

In Matthew 23 He goes further. “Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ” (Matthew 23:10). The word there, kathēgētēs, reaches toward a guide or instructor, someone who leads the way. Jesus reserves that title for Himself and gives the rest of us a different one: “The greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11).

How the Apostles Named Themselves

If anyone in the New Testament had a claim to the title of great leader, it was the apostles. They planted churches across the Roman world, wrote Scripture and confronted kings. Yet when they introduced themselves, they reached for very different words.

Paul, James, Peter and Jude all open their letters as a doulos, a bondservant of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1). Paul tells the Corinthians how they should think of him: “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1–2). The measure of a steward is faithfulness to someone else’s household, and the household is never his own.

Paul refused to make himself the message: “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). He called himself the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9) and the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Peter, the rock on whom Jesus said He would build His church, wrote to elders as a “fellow elder” and told them to shepherd the flock “not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1–3). He reminded them that there is a Chief Shepherd, and it is not any of them (1 Peter 5:4).

The one church figure the New Testament names for loving prominence is Diotrephes, “who likes to put himself first” (3 John 9). John does not treat him as a strong leader with rough edges. He treats him as a man who has stopped receiving the apostolic word.

Leadership Is Real, But It Is Not Who We Are

None of this means leadership is unbiblical. Paul lists leading among the gifts of grace and tells the one who leads to do so with zeal (Romans 12:8). Hebrews tells believers to remember their leaders and to obey them, “for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Hebrews 13:7, 17). Paul calls the desire for oversight the desire for a noble task (1 Timothy 3:1). God has always raised up people to go before others, from Moses to Nehemiah to the elders of Ephesus.

The question is where leadership sits in the order of our identity. Scripture gives us four words that belong together, in this order:

1. Disciple is who we are. We never graduate from following Jesus. The Great Commission is to make disciples, and the ones who make them remain disciples themselves (Matthew 28:19–20).

2. Servant is our posture. Whatever authority we carry, we carry it from below, as Jesus did (Philippians 2:5–7).

3. Steward is our accountability. The people, the gifts and the platform belong to someone else, and we will give an account for them (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Corinthians 4:2).

4. Leading is a function we exercise for a season and for the sake of others. It is something we do; it is not who we are.

When “leader” becomes the identity, this order flips. Discipleship becomes the stage we passed through on the way to leadership. Service becomes a technique great leaders use. People become the raw material our leadership works on. The words may sound similar, but the centre of gravity has moved from Jesus to ourselves.

When the Leader Becomes the Project

The last two decades have brought a painful run of moral failures among prominent pastors. The causes are many: isolation, unhealed wounds, money, exhaustion, celebrity, the absence of real accountability, and the ordinary sin of the human heart. No single explanation covers every fall. Still, I believe the way we have taught pastors to see themselves is one of the reasons, and it feeds several of the others.

Consider what happens when a man’s calling is framed as becoming a great leader.

The self becomes the project. His growth, his influence, his capacity and his image become the main thing he tends. Jesus’ call was to “deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Self-denial is quietly replaced by self-development, and a heart that is always being built up is rarely being searched.

Accountability flows the wrong way. Leaders are followed; disciples follow. When no one in his life is allowed to treat him as a disciple under correction, he has stepped out from under the very thing designed to protect him.

Results outrank faithfulness. Great leaders are measured by growth, reach and outcomes. Stewards are measured by faithfulness. A results culture will overlook a gifted man’s character for as long as the numbers keep rising, and often that is exactly what happens until the collapse.

The platform needs protecting. An identity built on greatness has to be defended. That breeds image management, and image management is the soil where a hidden life grows.

Gifting is mistaken for maturity. Saul stood head and shoulders above the people (1 Samuel 9:2). He looked exactly like what Israel thought a leader should be. David was a shepherd boy whose father did not think to call him in from the field (1 Samuel 16:11). Scripture’s verdict on the two men was never about competence.

J. Robert Clinton’s long study of leaders in Scripture and history found that most did not finish well. The danger he identified was rarely a lack of skill. It was the slow drift of the inner life while the outward work continued. A culture that keeps telling pastors to become great leaders is training the outward work and neglecting the inner life, and that is precisely where the drift begins.

A Different Vocabulary

The language of the great leader has a history. As the church-growth movement gathered pace in the late 1980s and 1990s, pastors of large churches increasingly looked to the business world for help, and management thinkers such as Peter Drucker became mentors to a generation of megachurch pastors. In 1993 John Maxwell published Developing the Leader Within You, followed in 1998 by The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, and his conviction that everything rises and falls on leadership became a working creed in many churches. In 1995 Willow Creek convened its first Leadership Summit, framed around the leadership gift of Romans 12:8, and it grew into one of the largest leadership events in the world. By the 2000s, “leader” had become a common word for a pastor, and becoming a great leader a common goal.

Much of this came from a sincere desire to see churches led well, and many who use the language mean something good: faithful servants who lead well. The trouble is that words form us. If we want a generation of pastors shaped like Jesus, we need to speak the way He and the apostles spoke.

Here is what that shift looks like in practice, with what we often say set against what Scripture says:

• “Great leaders cast vision.” Disciples do only what they see the Father doing (John 5:19).

• “Great leaders build influence.” “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

• “Great leaders attract followers.” Disciples make disciples of Jesus, never of themselves (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 1:12–13).

• “Great leaders protect the platform.” Stewards give account for what was never theirs (Hebrews 13:17).

• “Great leaders are measured by results.” Servants are measured by faithfulness: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

• “Greatness is the goal.” Greatness is God’s gift to those who go down (Philippians 2:8–9; Matthew 23:12).

This is more than a change of slogans. It changes what we celebrate, whom we promote and what we ask of those who carry responsibility. A church that honours faithfulness above results will notice character long before a crisis forces it to.

The Towel

The answer to the leadership culture is not cynicism toward those caught up in it. “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls” (Romans 14:4). Many pastors who speak of great leaders love Jesus and serve sacrificially. The call is to examine the framework, and that call applies to every one of us who carries responsibility in the body of Christ, myself included.

So let us stop asking how to become great leaders and start asking the questions Jesus actually asks. Am I still following Him? Whose feet am I washing? Will I be found faithful with what was never mine?

Jesus has already defined greatness, and He did it on His knees with a basin of water and a towel. He told us that whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12). The exalting is His to do. Our part is to take up the towel.

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What if the gospel Jesus preached is far bigger than the message many Christians have heard?

For many believers, the gospel has been reduced to forgiveness of sins, personal salvation, and the promise of heaven after death. While these are essential truths, Jesus proclaimed something even more expansive: the arrival of the Kingdom of God.

In this inaugural episode of The Sent Ones Podcast, we explore the introduction to Glenn Bleakney’s forthcoming book, The Invasion: Recovering the Gospel Jesus Preached, scheduled for release in January 2027.

Through an engaging, Scripture-rich conversation, we examine the revolutionary announcement that God’s promised future has broken into the present through the life, death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom is not merely a future destination. It is a present reality that transforms how we live, pray, serve, and participate in God’s redemptive mission.

In This Episode

• Beyond Fire Insurance: Why the gospel is more than escaping judgment and securing eternity.

• The Gospel Jesus Preached: Understanding Mark 1:15 and the announcement that God’s Kingdom has drawn near.

• The Invasion of the Age to Come: How God’s future Kingdom has entered the present through Jesus.

• Restoring Humanity’s Original Calling: Rediscovering our purpose as image-bearers entrusted with delegated authority.

• The Already and Not Yet: Why the Kingdom is genuinely present while suffering, sickness, and death remain.

• Miracles as Kingdom Demonstrations: How Jesus’ healings and deliverances reveal the power and character of God’s reign.

• Living as Kingdom Witnesses: Three essential practices—praying, proclaiming, and embodying the culture of the Kingdom.

• Authority Through Servanthood: Why Kingdom advancement must never be confused with coercion, political domination, or human power.

• The Mission Continues: How the book of Acts reveals the ongoing proclamation of the Kingdom through the Holy Spirit.

Key Scriptures

Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:23; Isaiah 9:7; Luke 19:10; Romans 5:17; Matthew 6:10; Matthew 12:28–29; Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:3–8; Acts 28:31; 1 Corinthians 15:26; 2 Peter 3:11–13; Revelation 21:3–4.

Key Takeaway

Jesus did not come merely to prepare people for heaven. He came announcing the reign of God, defeating the powers of darkness, restoring humanity’s calling, and inaugurating the new creation.

The Church’s mission is not to manufacture the Kingdom through political power or human effort, but to bear faithful witness to the crucified and risen King through the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and lives shaped by His character.

Questions for Reflection

1. Have I understood salvation primarily as a future escape, or as an invitation to live under the reign of Jesus today?

2. How should the reality of God’s Kingdom transform my relationships, priorities, and daily decisions?

3. What would it look like to demonstrate the Kingdom through compassion, service, prayer, and Spirit-empowered witness?

4. How can I hold together bold faith for miracles with compassion for those experiencing ongoing suffering?

About The Sent Ones Podcast

The Sent Ones Podcast is presented by Awake Nations Ministries and Sent College.

Exploring biblical theology, the Gospel of the Kingdom, discipleship, the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the mission of the Church, the podcast equips believers to rediscover the message Jesus preached and live as faithful witnesses of His reign.

Explore Sent College:

https://sentcollege.com

Awake Nations Ministries:

https://awakeaus.com

Coming January 2027: The Invasion: Recovering the Gospel Jesus Preached by Glenn Bleakney.

Subscribe, follow, and share this episode with someone ready to rediscover the Gospel of the Kingdom.

#TheSentOnesPodcast #GospelOfTheKingdom #KingdomOfGod #GlennBleakney #SentCollege #AwakeNations #ChristianPodcast #BiblicalTheology #HolySpirit #Discipleship

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Dear Friend,

Thank you for your interest in our FREE Five-Day CROSS OVER BREAKTHROUGH Challenge

I want to apologize for a technical issue with our original registration platform. To ensure everyone has the best possible experience, we’ve moved our live training to a new platform.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE REGISTER AGAIN

Even if you’ve already registered, we need you to register again using the new link below. It only takes a moment, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AGAIN

We’ll be using StreamYard On-Air for all five sessions. Once you’ve registered, save your viewing link so you can join us each day.

HERE’S WHEN WE MEET LIVE:

North America (Eastern Time)
Sunday, October 18 – Thursday, October 22
8:00 PM Eastern each evening

Australia (Brisbane – AEST)
Monday, October 19 – Friday, October 23
10:00 AM AEST each morning

Our focus is CROSSING OVER—helping you navigate life’s transitions, move beyond uncertainty, and step into what God has prepared for you.

If you’ve upgraded your experience, don’t worry! Your upgrade is still recognized, and your complimentary gifts will be sent to you after you attend the first live session.

We’re also planning special surprises and giveaways for those attending live!

Please invite a friend who could benefit from these five days of encouragement and practical biblical teaching.

Thank you for your understanding. I’m excited about what God has in store for us!

Grace and peace,

Glenn Bleakney
Awake Nations | Sent College
GlennBleakney.com

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The frequency of the question is, as one observer has noted, sadly tied to the frequency of the failures. So the church reaches reflexively for a single text, “you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1), and treats it as a clearance, a green light, a divine mandate to return the fallen to the platform. But this is to read the verse without reading the church, and to confuse two things Scripture never confuses.

I want to make a distinction in this article that I believe the contemporary church has almost entirely collapsed, and the collapse is costing us our credibility before a watching world. Restoration is not reinstatement. They are not synonyms. They are not even necessarily sequential. One is the inheritance of every repentant believer; the other is a stewardship the church may, or may not, choose to extend. To treat the first as automatically producing the second is to misunderstand both.

WHAT RESTORATION ACTUALLY IS

Restoration, in the biblical sense, concerns the soul of the sinner before God. It is about healing, repentance, redemption, and the work of helping someone be made whole again in Christ. It is the recovery of fellowship, the healing of the inner man, the renewal of communion that sin had ruptured. When David cried, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12), he was not petitioning for the throne, which he already held; he was petitioning for the joy, for the nearness, for the clean heart and the right spirit that his adultery and his orchestrated murder had driven from him. Restoration is what God does in a person who turns; it is gift, it is grace, it is the unfailing inheritance of all who genuinely repent.

And here is the glorious truth we must never minimize in our zeal to protect the flock: everyrepentant sinner can be restored. The thief on the cross was restored. Peter, who denied his Lord three times with curses, was restored. There is no failure so grievous that the blood of Christ cannot cleanse it and no fall so deep that grace cannot reach the bottom of it. When a fallen leader weeps over his sin, when he submits himself to discipline, when he bears the fruit of repentance; that man can be fully, completely, eternally restored to his God. We must say this loudly, because a church that doubts the sufficiency of grace has lost the gospel itself.

But notice what restoration is: it is the reconciliation of a person to God and, in measure, to the community he wounded. It is not the return of that person to an office.

WHAT REINSTATEMENT ACTUALLY IS

Reinstatement concerns something entirely different. It concerns the stewardship of office before the people of God. Reinstatement is about returning someone to a previous position of leadership, influence, or responsibility, and that return requires the rebuilding of trust with those impacted, with those they would lead, and with those responsible for oversight and accountability; it requires the demonstrated fruit of repentance that reflects godly character, wisdom, and accountability. The pastorate, the eldership, the recognized place of teaching authority; these are not personal possessions to be repossessed upon repentance; they are trusts held on behalf of a congregation, governed by qualifications that Scripture sets out with deliberate weight.

Consider the qualifications themselves. An overseer must be “above reproach,” anepīlēmptos, literally one who cannot be taken hold of, against whom no handle for accusation exists; he must be “well thought of by outsiders” (1 Timothy 3:2, 3:7). These are not interior conditions, recoverable in the secret place between a man and his God. They are public, observable, relational realities; and they are precisely the realities that a moral failure destroys. A man may be genuinely restored in his soul and still, for a season or for the remainder of his life, fail to meet the standard of being above reproach in the eyes of the very people he is asked to lead.

This is why the distinction matters so urgently. The question, “Has this man repented?” and the question, “Should this man hold office again?” are two different questions, requiring two different examinations, answerable by two different criteria. The first is answered by the fruit of his repentance. The second is answered by whether the disqualification his sin produced has, in fact, been removed; and some disqualifications, by their nature, are not removable on a timetable, while some may not be removable at all.

THE ERROR OF THE COLLAPSED DISTINCTION

What I am describing as the collapse is this: the church increasingly treats the completion of a restoration process as if it automatically discharged the question of reinstatement to office. We design a program of counseling, a season away, accountability partners, and a public statement of repentance; and when the program is complete we conclude that the man is therefore qualified to lead again. The process becomes a kind of penance that, once served, restores not merely the soul but the office.

But repentance, however genuine, does not by itself re-establish the public trust that office requires. A man may complete every step of a restoration process with total sincerity and emerge genuinely restored to God; and yet the question of whether he should stand again before a congregation remains entirely open, to be settled not by whether he has suffered enough or wept enough, but by whether the qualifications themselves have been re-established. We should observe, with some sobriety, that in at least one of the recent high-profile cases the elders affirmed the man’s restoration while declining to return him to leadership; and that this distinction, far from being a cruelty, was an act of theological clarity that more churches would do well to imitate.

WHAT RESTORATION MUST INVOLVE BEFORE REINSTATEMENT IS EVEN A QUESTION

If, then, reinstatement is ever to be considered, what must the restorative process actually contain? Not as a checklist to be hurried through, but as the slow re-establishment of what sin tore down. I would name the following:

1. Genuine repentance, not mere disclosure under pressure. There is a vast difference between the sorrow of being caught and the godly grief that produces repentance leading to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). The first manages a crisis; the second hates the sin. The church must discern which it is looking at, and it cannot discern this quickly.

2. Full ownership without minimization. The fallen leader must name what he did without the softening euphemisms; and here the church should be wary, for the very phrase “moral failure” has become a fog through which abusers conceal the specifics of what was, in some cases, a crime against a child. Where there has been a crime, restoration of the soul is one matter; the demands of justice, the protection of victims, and the reporting obligations to civil authority are not suspended by the church’s grace, nor may they ever be.

3. Submission to authority the leader does not control. A restoration overseen by the fallen man’s own loyalists, on terms he himself sets, is no restoration at all. The process must be governed by those with the standing and the will to say no.

4. Restitution and the centering of the wounded. The flock he injured, the spouse he betrayed, the victim he harmed; their healing, not his return to relevance, must be the gravitational center of the process. A restoration organized around getting the leader back on the platform has already revealed that it serves the leader and not the wounded.

5. Time sufficient to test the fruit.Repentance is proved not by its declaration but by its endurance. A season measured in weeks, or even in a single year, may be adequate to begin healing the soul; it is rarely adequate to re-establish a reputation that is “above reproach” and “well thought of by outsiders.”

6. A sober reckoning with the nature of the disqualification. Some failures, by their character, permanently bar a man from a particular office while leaving him fully restored as a beloved son of God serving in other ways. The shepherd who has preyed on the sheep does not get the staff back because he has wept. To say so is not to deny grace; it is to honor the flock.

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THE PASTORAL CONCLUSION

So let us hold both truths with their full weight, refusing to surrender either. Grace is real, and grace is total; there is no fallen leader beyond the reach of the cross, and the church that withholds the hope of restoration from a repentant brother has failed the gospel. And office is a trust, not a right; there is no automatic pathway from “I have repented” to “I will lead again,” and the church that hands back the pulpit as though repentance were the only qualification has failed the flock.

We should always pursue restoration. But reinstatement must be approached with wisdom, because grace offers forgiveness, yet grace does not remove the need for stewardship, for consequences, and for the patient rebuilding of trust. To forgive a man is one thing, and the gospel commands it; to return a man to authority is another thing entirely, and the gospel nowhere commands it. The first flows freely from grace received. The second flows only from trust rebuilt and qualifications re-established.

Restoration we owe to every penitent, because God owes it through His covenant of grace. Reinstatement we owe to no one, because it was never a debt; it was always a stewardship. The fallen shepherd may be wholly restored to the Father’s house and never again hold the staff; and if that seems to us a hard saying, it is only because we have so prized the platform that we have forgotten the sheep were always the point.

If this article served you, consider subscribing to Awake Nations for ongoing theological reflection on the Kingdom, the church, and the formation of disciples.

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Hi everyone,

Our final SENT College unit of study for this year, 2026 is Encountering Jesus: In the Gospels, and begins Thursday, October 8.

Through the Gospel accounts, we’ll explore Jesus’ relationship with the Father, his life and ministry, and what it means to follow him. My prayer is that this study will deepen our understanding of Jesus and shape us in our own discipleship and ministry.

We’ll meet on October 8, 15, 22 and 29, and November 5, at 6:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time. For those joining us from the UK, each session will be at 9:00 am UK time on the same Thursday.

If you haven’t studied with SENT College before, we’d love to welcome you to one session free of charge on Thursday, October 8. We’ll also send you a free copy of my new Ebook, The Face Moses Never Saw. Just reply to this email and let us know you’re interested.

For those in North America who are interested in studying with SENT College, our cohort will begin on February 4, 2027. If you haven’t already expressed interest, please reply and let us know you’d like to be part of the cohort.

Final Chance to Sign Up and Make Payment

If you have not yet made payment, please use the link that matches how you’re taking the module:

• Audit the module

• Study for degree credit

There are two required books:

The Face Moses Never Saw — I wrote this book for the module. The eBook and paperback are available on Amazon Australia. We’ll also have physical copies available to purchase at church on Sunday, October 4.

Introducing Jesus: A Short Guide to the Gospels’ History and Message by Mark L. Strauss — Please purchase this book as well. We’ll have assigned reading from it during the module. You can find it on Amazon Australia.

I’m looking forward to exploring the Gospels with you and finishing the year with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Glenn Bleakney

SentCollege.com

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Our final Sent College module for 2026, Encountering Jesus: In the Gospels, begins Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time. We’ll meet on October 8, 15, 22 and 29, then finish with two sessions on Thursday, November 5 at 6 PM AEST

Please use the payment link that matches how you’re taking the module:

• Audit the module

• Study for degree credit

There are two required books:

The Face Moses Never Saw — I wrote this book for the module. The eBook and paperback are available on Amazon Australia. We’ll also have physical copies available to purchase at church on Sunday, October 4.

Introducing Jesus: A Short Guide to the Gospels’ History and Message by Mark L. Strauss — Please purchase this book as well. We’ll have assigned reading from it during the module. You can find it on Amazon Australia.

For those in North America: If there’s enough interest, we’ll launch a cohort at a time that works for your region in January 2027.

Please reply to this email if you’d like to be part of it.

I’m looking forward to exploring the Gospels with you and finishing the year with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Glenn Bleakney

SentCollege.com

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You are not where you once were, and you are not yet where you need to be. Something has ended. An assignment has changed, a relationship is no longer what it was, and the provision you depended on has shifted. You know you can't go back, but when you look ahead the way forward seems blocked.

I call this place the hallway, and hallways can feel like hell.

Between the closed door of the past and the open door of the future there is often a long delay. We may never fully understand it, but God can have a purpose for the in-between.

THE HALLWAY FORMS US

Scripture treats the in-between as a workshop. Israel had the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan. Joseph had the prison between the pit and the palace. David had the cave between the anointing and the throne. Jesus had years of obscurity in Nazareth and forty days in the desert before His public ministry began. We want to go straight from promise to fulfilment, and God takes us through process, because He is as concerned with who we become on the way as with where we arrive.

James says, "knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:3, WEB). What if the season you are trying to escape is producing something you will need in the next one?

THE HALLWAY STRIPS OUR PROPS

When the doors are open, we coast on our gifts, our momentum, our experience, our reputation, our relationships, and our resources. In the narrow passage between rooms none of that carries us, and we are thrown back on God Himself. Often we don't know how much we leaned on those props until He lets them go.

Paul pleaded for his thorn to be removed, and the Lord answered, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9, WEB). We may never discover the full sufficiency of God while everything else is sufficient. We learn His faithfulness when other things fail us. So don't waste your hallway wishing you were somewhere else. Something may be forming in the dark that God will later display in the light.

THE HALLWAY IS ALSO DANGEROUS

Israel had left Egypt and had not yet reached Canaan. They were tired and strung out across the desert, and that is when Amalek attacked. Moses later reminded them: "Remember what Amalek did to you by the way as you came out of Egypt; how he met you by the way, and struck among you all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary" (Deuteronomy 25:17–18, WEB).

The attack fell on the stragglers, not on the strong center of the camp. Long uncertainty wears us down the same way. A crisis carries you on adrenaline, but then the weeks become months, no answer arrives, and discouragement starts to talk. Maybe I missed God. Maybe it's over. Maybe I should go back. Be careful what you decide when you are exhausted, because weariness makes Egypt look good.

DON'T GO BACK BECAUSE IT'S FAMILIAR

After the resurrection, Peter said, "I am going fishing" (John 21:3, WEB). Fishing was what he knew before Jesus called him, and when the future was unclear he reached for what he understood. We do the same. When the new season hasn't arrived, the old life starts calling, and it calls because it is familiar, whether or not it is right.

Israel did this in the wilderness. They remembered the fish and the leeks and forgot the chains (Numbers 11:5). Discouragement romanticizes what God delivered us from, and yesterday starts to look better only because tomorrow hasn't come.

DON'T BUILD A HOUSE IN THE HALLWAY

Waiting says, "I will remain faithful here until God directs my next step." Settling says, "I no longer expect another door to open." The hallway has a purpose, but it isn't your permanent address. At some point waiting has to give way to movement, grief to belief, and looking back to looking ahead.

Paul wrote, "forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal" (Philippians 3:13–14, WEB). You can't walk into the future while staring at the door that closed behind you. Honor what was, grieve what you lost, learn what God is teaching you, forgive who needs forgiving, and repent where you need to.

THE NEW DIRECTION OFTEN FOLLOWS THE DISRUPTION

This is one of the patterns I trace in Unsettled. We want God to show us the new direction before He disrupts the old one, and He often doesn't. Paul was forbidden to speak in Asia before the Macedonian vision came (Acts 16:6–10). The disciples hauled up empty nets before Jesus appeared on the shore (John 21:3–6). Elijah watched the brook dry up before he was sent to Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7–9).

You may have genuinely released what was and still be unable to see what will be. That space takes faith, because "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7, WEB). God doesn't always give a map. Often He gives light for the next step.

YOUR HALLWAY IS NOT WASTED

Joseph could look back over betrayal, slavery, false accusation, prison, and delay, and say, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20, WEB). He said that from the other side. In the pit he had to trust what he couldn't yet understand. The interpretation usually comes at the end, and the trusting is required in the middle.

The closed door, the long delay, the loss, and the unanswered questions don't necessarily mean God has abandoned you. So stay close to Him, let Him form you, listen for His voice, and be ready when the next door opens, because the hallway was never meant to be your home.

IF THIS IS YOUR SEASON

This article is adapted from my book Unsettled: The Unexpected Path to God's Purposes, written for people whose plans have been disrupted, whose resources have thinned, and who are standing between what was and what comes next. The book goes further into how to discern what God is doing in transition, how to recognize redirection, and how to keep from being stuck by disappointment, fear, or familiarity. You can find it at UnsettledBook.com.

If Unsettled has helped you, please take a moment to leave an honest review on Amazon. Reviews help other people in their own unsettled seasons find it. And if you know someone standing in the hallway right now, share this with them.

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Share The Making of a Prophet

I believe we are in a different season for the church. Many people still value gathering on Sunday, but they are also hungry for deeper community, discipleship, prayer, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in everyday life.

I’ve been asking what it would look like for Awake Nations to help people find that kind of life together, wherever they live.

We are exploring a connected family of online discipleship circles, home gatherings, and local churches. The aim is to help people follow Jesus, grow in the Word and Spirit, care for one another, and reach their communities. We also want to train and support leaders, with meaningful relationships and accountable oversight.

You may already be hosting a home church or small group and would value encouragement and connection. You may sense a call to start one but need help taking the first steps. Perhaps you lead a church and would like to explore partnership. Or you may simply be looking for a community where you can be known, grow as a disciple, and contribute.'

I would love to hear from you. Reply to this email and tell me:

• Where you live

• Whether you’re part of a church, home gathering, or small group now

• What you feel drawn to: joining, hosting, leading, or connecting your church

• One question or hope you have about this

If you already belong to a healthy local church, I’m grateful for it. This invitation is not about pulling people away from their church. I’m looking for ways we can strengthen what God is doing, connect people who are isolated, and equip believers to reach those who may never walk into a conventional Sunday service.

We are still listening and shaping the next steps. Your response will help us see where there are people ready to gather and leaders ready to serve.

The harvest is before us. Let’s pray, listen, and build with care.

Grace and peace,

Glenn Bleakney
Awake Nations

Sid reveals how It’s Supernatural! began, explains how to distinguish God’s supernatural power from the counterfeit, and shares why he believes we are approaching the greatest move of God in history.

Discover the true meaning of God’s glory and how you can prepare for what is coming.

Pre-order Sid Roth’s new book, The Glory Story, at https://sidroth.org/glorystory

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You thought you would be further along by now.

Perhaps you thought the ministry would have grown more. You expected the finances to be stronger, the doors to be wider, the relationships to be healthier, or the path ahead to be clearer. Maybe you thought that after all these years of serving God, you would have a better understanding of where your life was going.

Instead, you find yourself in a place you did not plan for.

Some prayers have not been answered the way you expected. Some opportunities you were certain would come never appeared. Other doors opened for a season and then closed without much explanation. Relationships changed. Resources shifted. Things that once seemed certain became uncertain.

Then you look around and see other people moving forward. Someone you started with seems to be flourishing. Someone younger is doing what you once dreamed of doing. Someone else received the opportunity you had prayed about for years.

If you are not careful, disappointment can turn inward. You begin asking questions that go much deeper than the circumstances themselves.

Did I miss God? Did I take a wrong turn somewhere? Did I waste years? Should I have stayed longer? Should I have left sooner? Did I misunderstand what God was saying?

I understand those questions because I have asked some of them myself.

One of the hardest parts of an unsettled season is not simply that life has changed. It is that the change forces us to reconsider the story we thought we were living.

The Map We Drew

Most of us carry a map in our minds of how life is supposed to unfold. We may never have written it down, but the expectations are there. By this age, I should be here. By now, this should have happened. After this many years of faithfulness, surely that door should have opened. We build an internal timeline, and without realising it, we begin measuring God’s faithfulness by how closely our lives follow it.

But God has never promised to follow the map we drew.

That is especially difficult when our desires are not selfish. You may genuinely want to honour God. You may have stepped out in obedience. You may have carried something in prayer for years. You were not simply pursuing success; you believed you were pursuing purpose.

Yet obedience does not always produce the route we expected.

This is one of the great tensions of following God. We know where we believe He is taking us, but we do not always understand the way He chooses to get us there.

Israel discovered this when they left Egypt. There was a shorter route to the Promised Land, but God deliberately did not lead them that way. Exodus tells us that He did not take them through the land of the Philistines, “though that was shorter” (Exodus 13:17).

I find those words striking.

There was a shorter way.

There was a route that made more sense.

There was a path that would have reached the destination more quickly.

But God chose another way.

Why? Because God was not simply moving people from one geographical location to another. He was forming them. Egypt had come out of their circumstances, but Egypt still had to come out of them. They needed to learn dependence, obedience, trust, worship, and the ways of God.

The journey was doing something in them that the shorter route could not do.

Perhaps that is one of the things we struggle to understand when we feel behind. We are looking at the destination while God is also looking at our formation.

We want to arrive. God wants to prepare us to live faithfully when we do.

What Is God Forming in You?

This does not mean every delay is caused by God. Scripture does not ask us to call every disappointment divine. We make mistakes. People hurt us. Opportunities are lost. Opposition is real. Sometimes we misunderstand God’s direction, and sometimes the decisions of others have painful consequences in our lives.

But even when God did not cause the disruption, He is able to redeem it.

Joseph could look back over years of betrayal, injustice, false accusation, and waiting and say that what others intended for evil, God used for good. That did not make the betrayal good. It meant the betrayal did not get the final word.

The same is true for us. God does not need to have authored every painful chapter in order to become the Redeemer of the story.

That changes the question.

Instead of continually asking, “Why am I not further along?” perhaps we need to ask, “What is God forming in me here?”

That is a very different question.

You may not have the platform you thought you would have, but perhaps you have developed compassion you did not have ten years ago. Maybe you are less controlled by the approval of people. Perhaps you have learned how quickly success can become an idol, even when we attach spiritual language to it. You may have learned to recognise the presence of God in ordinary places rather than only in dramatic moments.

Perhaps you pray differently now. Perhaps you listen more carefully. Perhaps you are slower to judge people whose lives have taken unexpected turns. Perhaps you understand grace in ways you could never have learned from a textbook.

These things are difficult to measure, but they matter deeply to God.

There are qualities formed in obscurity that are rarely formed on a platform. There are lessons learned in the wilderness that cannot be learned in the palace. There is a kind of dependence that only develops when our familiar resources are no longer enough.

We often interpret hiddenness as inactivity, but God does some of His deepest work where nobody is watching.

The wilderness was not wasted on Moses. The cave was not wasted on David. Prison was not wasted on Joseph. The years before Jesus began His public ministry were not wasted.

And your present season does not have to be wasted either.

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The Trouble With Looking Sideways

One of the greatest dangers in an unsettled season is comparison.

When our own path is unclear, we become unusually interested in everyone else’s. We notice who is being promoted, who is growing, who is being invited, who bought the house, who launched the ministry, who received the opportunity.

Before long, someone else’s blessing begins to feel like evidence that we have been forgotten.

Peter fell into the same trap.

After Jesus spoke to Peter about his own future, Peter looked at John and asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus responded, “What is that to you? You must follow me” (John 21:21–22).

That is a liberating word if we will receive it.

Jesus was calling Peter back to the only journey Peter was responsible to walk.

“Follow Me.”

Someone else’s timeline cannot tell you whether you are in the will of God. Their open door does not mean you missed yours. Their visibility does not mean God has forgotten you. Their season is not the standard by which you should interpret your own.

Comparison makes it almost impossible to discern the ways of God because it keeps us looking sideways when Jesus is calling us to follow Him.

Between Here and There

There is a place I write about in Unsettled that I think many people know well. It is the space between what was and what will be.

The old door has closed, but the next one has not opened.

You cannot go back, but you cannot yet see forward.

I call it the in-between.

The in-between can be deeply uncomfortable because there is very little we can control there. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is unclear, and we are left with today.

Yet this is often where God deals with some of the deepest things in us.

Can I trust Him when I do not understand Him? Can I obey without knowing the outcome? Can I remain faithful when nobody is applauding? Can I believe that God is still working when there is very little visible evidence that anything is happening?

We want clarity because clarity gives us a sense of control. God wants trust.

That does not mean clarity is wrong. It means clarity cannot become the condition of our obedience.

There are times when God gives detailed instructions, but there are also times when He gives enough light for one step.

That can be frustrating because we want the map.

God often gives direction.

We want to know how the next five years will unfold. God tells us what faithfulness looks like today.

Perhaps that is where you are now. You do not need to know everything that comes next. You need to know what obedience requires next.

Maybe that means starting something. Maybe it means ending something. Maybe it means making a call, having a difficult conversation, writing again, serving faithfully, resting for a season, or finally releasing something that ended long ago.

Sometimes the next act of obedience is simply to stop trying to keep alive what God is asking us to release.

You May Not Be Behind

So perhaps you are not as far behind as you think.

I am not suggesting that every lost opportunity was God’s plan or that every delay should be spiritualised. There are times when we need to take responsibility, make changes, receive counsel, and move forward.

But I am saying this: do not measure your whole life by the distance between where you are and where you thought you would be.

God may be doing something much deeper than you can presently see.

The season that feels slow may be preparing you for something that requires roots. The obscurity you resent may be dealing with a need for recognition that would have injured you later. The closed door may be protecting you. The changing relationship may be revealing where you placed too much of your identity. The delay may be exposing whether you want God’s purpose or merely the version of His purpose that you designed.

These are not easy lessons.

But they are holy ones.

There comes a point in every journey of faith when we have to lay down the map we drew and say once again, “Lord, wherever You lead, I will follow.”

That is not surrendering your calling.

It is surrendering your demand to control how the calling unfolds.

You may have thought you would be further along by now. I understand that feeling. But perhaps the better question is not how quickly you are moving.

Perhaps the better question is whether you are still following.

If you are, keep going.

Stay close to Jesus. Pay attention to what He is forming in you. Refuse to measure your life by somebody else’s journey. Do not force open a door simply because you are tired of the hallway.

And when God makes the next step clear, take it.

You may not have the whole map.

You don’t need it.

You need His presence, His voice, and enough faith to obey Him one step at a time.

Walking Through an Unsettled Season?

If your plans have been disrupted, resources have changed, relationships have shifted, or you are trying to discern what God is doing in a season you never expected, I wrote Unsettled: The Unexpected Path to God’s Purposes for you.

This book was born out of real seasons of change and the lessons God taught me about His ways when the path ahead was anything but clear. It is about learning to discern the difference between resistance and redirection, releasing what has ended, trusting God in the in-between, and finding the courage to move when He makes the next step clear.

Not ready to purchase yet? You can download a free chapter at unsettledbook.com and begin the journey there.

For a limited time, the Unsettled ebook is only $2.99 USD on Amazon through September 22. It is also available in paperback and hardcover.

Get your copy of Unsettled on Amazon today, or download the free chapter at unsettledbook.com.

And if someone came to mind while you were reading this, consider sending this article to them. They may need the reminder that an unexpected road does not mean God has abandoned the journey.

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I understand the concern.

No Christian should teach that babies are worthless, defective, or objects of shame. Every human being is created by God, bears His image, and possesses extraordinary dignity.

David writes:

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
— Psalm 139:14 ESV

Absolutely.

Human beings are intentionally created by God. Human life has extraordinary value.

But does being wonderfully made mean humanity is spiritually neutral?

It does not.

The same David also says:

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
— Psalm 51:5 ESV

These statements are not contradictory.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God while simultaneously being born into a humanity profoundly affected by the Fall.

Creation and fallenness are different theological categories.

God is our Creator.

Sin is not.

To affirm original sin does not mean that God creates evil people or injects some substance called “sin” into an infant.

Christianity does not teach the existence of a literal “sin gene.”

Original sin is not primarily a biological theory.

It is a theological description of humanity’s solidarity with Adam and the consequences of the Fall.

What Happened Through Adam?

Romans 5 is foundational to this discussion.

Paul writes:

“Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.”
— Romans 5:12 ESV

Sometimes that statement is interpreted to mean Adam merely introduced sin into the environment around humanity.

But Paul goes considerably further.

He says:

“By the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners.”
— Romans 5:19 ESV

Adam is not merely humanity’s first bad influence.

Paul presents Adam and Christ as representative heads of two humanities.

Through Adam come sin, condemnation, and death.

Through Christ come righteousness, justification, and life.

Paul expresses the same reality elsewhere:

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:22 ESV

Notice Paul’s categories:

In Adam.

In Christ.

The gospel is not simply that Adam gave humanity a bad example and Jesus gave humanity a better one.

Jesus is not merely the greatest moral example who ever lived.

He comes as the last Adam, inaugurating a new humanity.

Adam and Eve Are Not Our Starting Point

Another argument sometimes made is that sin must originate externally because Adam and Eve were tempted externally by the serpent.

But there is an obvious theological problem with that reasoning:

Adam and Eve existed before the Fall. We do not.

Adam could encounter external temptation without possessing a fallen human condition because he lived prior to the event through which humanity became fallen.

Romans 5 exists precisely because Paul believes something changed through Adam’s transgression.

We cannot simply take Adam’s pre-Fall condition and project it onto Adam’s post-Fall descendants.

That overlooks the very reality Romans 5 is explaining.

“By Nature Children of Wrath”

Ephesians 2 makes the biblical diagnosis even clearer.

Paul describes humanity apart from Christ as:

“dead in the trespasses and sins”
— Ephesians 2:1 ESV

He goes on to speak of:

“the passions of our flesh”
— Ephesians 2:3 ESV

And then makes this remarkable statement:

“by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
— Ephesians 2:3 ESV

Paul is not merely describing what people do.

He is describing humanity’s condition apart from Christ.

That does not erase human dignity.

But neither should our concern for human dignity erase the biblical doctrine of the Fall.

We must hold both truths together:

Human beings possess immense worth because we bear God’s image. Yet human beings desperately need redemption because we belong to a fallen humanity.

The greatness of grace depends upon taking both truths seriously.

Wonderfully Made Does Not Mean Spiritually Neutral

Psalm 139 tells us something magnificent about our Creator.

Romans 5 tells us something sobering about our fallen condition.

Those doctrines do not compete.

We can say with complete biblical confidence:

I am wonderfully made by God.

And:

I was born into a humanity desperately needing redemption.

In fact, recognizing the depth of humanity’s condition does not diminish God’s goodness.

It magnifies the wonder of His grace.

Coming Next

In Part Two, I want to explore why the idea that humanity is born morally neutral sounds remarkably similar to one of the oldest theological controversies in Christian history:

Pelagianism.

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In our contemporary world where technological solutions promise to solve our most pressing problems, we often overlook the most sophisticated intelligence system ever conceived—the wisdom of Jehovah God Himself, the Eternal Father. This divine intelligence didn’t merely analyze creation; the Spirit of Jesus Christ authored it. The Holy One of Israel didn’t simply process the complexities of human nature; He designed them with perfect wisdom. And remarkably, this all-encompassing wisdom from the Ancient of Days is accessible to you on a deeply personal level through the indwelling Spirit of Christ, waiting to transform not just your leadership, but your entire approach to life.

The Garden Paradigm: Understanding Our Original Design in Elohim

To comprehend the fullness of this concept, we must journey back to humanity’s beginning—to the Garden of Eden, where we find our first glimpse of how humans were designed by Elohim to interact with the very Spirit of God, the divine intelligence that pervades all creation.

Genesis 3:8 tells us that Adam and Eve heard the qol of Yahweh Elohim walking in the garden. This Hebrew word qolcarries dual meaning as both “sound” and “voice,” revealing something profound about our original spiritual capacity. They weren’t merely detecting auditory vibrations; they were experiencing a multi-dimensional communion with Adonai, their Creator. Their spiritual senses were fully activated by the indwelling Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), allowing them to perceive the Father’s presence in ways our modern minds struggle to comprehend.

Consider for a moment what this means. Before the fracturing of this relationship through sin, humans naturally operated with access to the perfect wisdom of El Shaddai (God Almighty). Adam and Eve didn’t need to struggle with uncertainty or confusion—they walked and talked directly with Jehovah Jireh, the Source of all knowledge and provision. This wasn’t a special dispensation for exceptional individuals; it was humanity’s default operating system, designed by the Master Architect of the universe.

When we understand this historical reality, we recognize that our current limitations aren’t our original design. We were created for unhindered communion with divine intelligence.

Solomon’s Wisdom Request: A Case Study in the Spirit of Wisdom

The story of Solomon provides us with perhaps the most illuminating biblical example of someone who recognized the supreme value of the Spirit of Wisdom that comes from Yahweh Elohim, our Heavenly Father.

In 1 Kings 3:5-9, we witness a pivotal moment: Adonai appears to the young king and offers him anything he desires. Faced with this extraordinary opportunity from the Most High God, Solomon doesn’t request wealth, power, or long life—all logical choices for a new monarch facing the daunting task of governance. Instead, he asks for something far more fundamental: “Give Your servant an understanding heart,” essentially requesting the impartation of the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation from Elohim.

The Hebrew phrase used here, lev shomea, literally translates to “hearing heart.” This linguistic insight reveals that Solomon wasn’t merely requesting intellectual capacity or human wisdom. He was asking for the restoration of humanity’s original spiritual perception—the ability to hear and discern in the spiritual realm.

God’s response to this request is telling. He was so pleased with Solomon’s priorities that He granted him not only the wisdom he requested but also everything he didn’t ask for—riches, honor, and potential longevity. This illustrates a profound spiritual principle: when we prioritize connection with divine intelligence above all else, everything else tends to naturally align.

Solomon’s wisdom became legendary not because he was inherently smarter than others, but because he tapped into a source of understanding that transcended human limitations. His judgments, insights, and governance flowed from this divine connection.

The Nature of Divine Intelligence: The Mind of Christ Beyond Human Understanding

To grasp what we’re talking about when we refer to “divine intelligence”—the very mind of Christ and the wisdom of El Olam (the Everlasting God)—we need to understand how it fundamentally differs from human reasoning.

The Apostle Paul addresses this distinction directly in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, writing that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” This passage highlights a crucial truth: the wisdom of Jehovah operates on a completely different plane than human wisdom. The Spirit of Jesus Christ offers intelligence that is not just quantitatively superior (knowing more facts); it’s qualitatively different (operating from an entirely different dimension of the Kingdom of God).

Human intelligence, even at its most brilliant, is limited by our finite nature. We can only process what we’ve experienced, learned, or reasoned through. Divine intelligence, however, encompasses the beginning and end of all things simultaneously. It sees connections, patterns, and possibilities invisible to the natural mind.

Jesus Christ perfectly demonstrated this access to divine intelligence throughout His earthly ministry. In John 5:19-20, He made the remarkable statement that He could do nothing on His own but only what He saw the Father doing. His healing miracles, teachings, and interactions weren’t the product of exceptional human intuition; they flowed from constant communion with divine intelligence. He operated with perfect timing and precision because He remained connected to the Father’s perfect wisdom.

This same access is promised to believers—not just as a theoretical concept, but as a practical, experiential reality.

Our Spiritual Identity in Christ: Born for Divine Perception

Understanding our capacity for the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation requires recognizing our true spiritual identity as children of Elohim, born of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus discussed being “born again” with Nicodemus in John 3:3, He used the Greek term anothen, which carries the dual meaning of “again” and “from above.” This wasn’t merely about a religious conversion experience; it was about accessing a completely different realm of existence—being born into a dimension where divine perception becomes our natural inheritance.

First John 3:9 further illuminates this reality, stating that God’s seed (or nature) abides in believers. This isn’t metaphorical language; it’s describing a genuine spiritual reality—believers carry divine DNA within their spiritual makeup. Second Peter 1:4 reinforces this by declaring that we are “partakers of the divine nature.” These aren’t just poetic expressions but profound theological truths about our spiritual composition.

When we truly grasp this aspect of our identity in Christ, we understand that accessing divine intelligence isn’t about acquiring something external to us. Rather, it’s about activating something that already exists within us through our spiritual rebirth. Just as a radio doesn’t create radio waves but simply tunes into frequencies already present in the atmosphere, we don’t create divine wisdom but learn to attune our spirits to the divine frequency that’s always broadcasting.

Developing Your Spiritual Perception in the Holy Spirit: A Practical Approach

Understanding the mind of Christ conceptually is only the beginning. The critical question becomes: How do we develop this capacity in practical terms through our relationship with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth sent by our Heavenly Father?

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:17-18 provides our starting point. He asks that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.” This prayer reveals that spiritual perception requires divine activation. While we have the capacity for divine intelligence through our relationship with Christ, we need ongoing illumination to fully access it.

Consider the prophet Elijah’s experience in 1 Kings 18:41. In the midst of a devastating drought, with no natural evidence of change, Elijah declared, “There is the sound of abundance of rain.” He wasn’t making an optimistic prediction based on meteorological data; he was perceiving something in the spiritual realm before it manifested in the natural world. This illustrates divine intelligence in action—accessing knowledge that transcends natural limitations.

Developing this capacity requires several intentional practices:

1. Cultivate silence and solitude. Divine intelligence often speaks in what 1 Kings 19:12 calls “a still, small voice.” In our noisy, distraction-filled world, we must create space for quiet contemplation where we can attune our spiritual senses to God’s frequency.

2. Immerse yourself in Scripture. The Bible isn’t merely an information source; it’s a living communication channel. As Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “The word of God is living and powerful.” Regular engagement with Scripture tunes our spiritual perception to recognize God’s voice.

3. Practice obedient response. Jesus taught in John 7:17 that willingness to obey opens the door to greater spiritual understanding. Each time we respond faithfully to divine guidance, we strengthen our capacity to receive more.

4. Engage in worshipful communion. Worship isn’t merely an emotional expression; it’s a doorway to divine presence. As we focus our attention on God through worship, our spiritual perception becomes heightened.

5. Join a community of spiritual seekers. Divine intelligence often flows through relationship. Being connected to others who are pursuing spiritual wisdom creates an environment where perception can flourish.

Spiritual Listening: Developing the Art of Attunement to the Voice of the Father

Isaiah 50:4-5 provides a fascinating glimpse into the development of spiritual hearing: “Adonai Elohim has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned.” These prophetic words, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, reveal how the Spirit of God develops our capacity to hear the Father’s voice.

The Hebrew concept of “learned” here implies something acquired through discipleship and experience. This reveals that hearing God isn’t merely an innate ability; it’s a skill developed through consistent practice and intentional training. Like learning a musical instrument or mastering a sport, spiritual perception improves with dedicated attention and repetition.

Creating consistent spaces for divine encounters is essential to this development. Just as God walked with Adam and Eve “in the cool of the day,” suggesting a regular appointment time, we too must establish rhythms that prioritize communion with God. This isn’t about rigid religious routines but about cultivating an atmosphere where spiritual perception can flourish.

Many spiritual leaders throughout history have discovered that early morning hours often provide optimal conditions for divine communion. The world is quieter, distractions are minimized, and our minds are often more receptive before becoming cluttered with the day’s concerns. Experimenting with different times and environments can help you discover your own optimal conditions for spiritual listening.

Walking in Dual Awareness: Navigating Natural and Supernatural Realms

Second Corinthians 5:7 instructs believers to “walk by faith, not by sight.” This doesn’t advocate blind denial of physical reality; rather, it invites us into a state of dual awareness—simultaneously conscious of both natural circumstances and spiritual realities.

Jesus perfectly modeled this dual awareness throughout His ministry. When confronted with a crowd of hungry people, He acknowledged the natural reality (limited food supply) while simultaneously perceiving the spiritual solution (multiplication through blessing). He didn’t deny natural circumstances; He transcended them through access to divine intelligence.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian believers to have “the eyes of your understanding enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18) speaks to this same capacity for dual perception. The Greek word for “understanding” here is kardia, literally meaning “heart.” This isn’t about intellectual comprehension but about a deeper level of perception that grasps realities beyond what physical senses can detect.

Developing this dual awareness requires practice. Begin by consciously acknowledging that there’s more to every situation than what your natural senses detect. Train yourself to pause in challenging circumstances and ask, “What does divine intelligence reveal about this situation that my natural perception might miss?” This simple practice can open doorways to remarkable insight.

Divine Intelligence in Leadership: Practical Applications

How does this concept of divine intelligence translate into tangible leadership practices? Let’s explore specific applications:

Decision-Making Through Divine Discernment: Traditional leadership emphasizes data-driven decision-making, and while data certainly has its place, divine intelligence offers a deeper dimension. Before making significant decisions, establish a practice of spiritual consultation. Ask questions like: “Father, what are You already doing in this situation?” “What perspective am I missing?” “Is there a dimension to this decision my natural analysis isn’t capturing?”

King David exemplified this approach in 1 Samuel 30:8 when, facing a crisis after the Amalekites had raided his camp, he “inquired of the LORD” before taking action. This wasn’t a ceremonial gesture but a genuine consultation with divine intelligence that resulted in perfect strategic guidance.

Problem-Solving Beyond Human Wisdom: When facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, divine intelligence offers solutions that transcend conventional thinking. Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams in Genesis 41 illustrates this perfectly. While Egypt’s wisest advisors were baffled, Joseph accessed divine insight that not only interpreted the dreams but provided a comprehensive solution to an impending crisis.

As a leader, practice reframing problems from a divine perspective. Ask: “How does heaven see this challenge?” “What resources or solutions might exist that I’m not currently perceiving?” This approach often reveals innovative possibilities invisible to conventional analysis.

Strategic Planning Aligned with Divine Purposes: Rather than limiting strategic planning to projecting trends and calculating risks, seek to align your organizational direction with divine purposes. Nehemiah’s rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls demonstrates this approach. His strategy wasn’t merely logistical; it was aligned with God’s redemptive purposes for Israel.

Begin strategic planning sessions with periods of spiritual listening. Ask questions like: “What is God’s intention for this organization in this season?” “What opportunities or directions might we be overlooking?” This isn’t about mystical impressions replacing sound planning but about ensuring your strategies align with purposes larger than immediate objectives.

Team Development Through Spiritual Discernment: Divine intelligence offers profound insights into human potential and purpose. Jesus demonstrated this in His selection and development of the disciples. He didn’t choose based on conventional qualifications but on divine insight into their hidden potential.

As you lead teams, seek divine perspective on each team member’s unique design and calling. Ask: “What does this person carry that I might not be seeing?” “How can I create conditions for their God-given potential to flourish?” This approach often releases capacities in people that conventional leadership development might miss.

The Developmental Journey: Stages of Spiritual Intelligence Growth

Like any significant capacity, divine intelligence develops through identifiable stages:

Awakening: The initial recognition that divine wisdom is accessible and relevant to everyday leadership. This often begins with isolated experiences of divine insight that transcend your natural understanding.

Intentional Cultivation: The deliberate practice of creating space for divine communion and acting on spiritual impressions. During this stage, you’ll experience both successes and failures as you learn to distinguish divine guidance from your own thoughts.

Integration: The progressive merging of spiritual perception with natural leadership functions. Rather than compartmentalizing “spiritual” and “practical” leadership, you begin experiencing them as unified expressions of the same reality.

Multiplication: The capacity to facilitate divine intelligence in others. Like Elisha, who asked for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit (2 Kings 2:9), you become capable of igniting and nurturing spiritual perception in those you lead.

Maturation: The state where accessing divine intelligence becomes your natural leadership paradigm. Like Daniel, who accessed divine wisdom with such consistency that even pagan kings recognized his connection to “the spirit of the holy gods” (Daniel 4:8-9), your leadership becomes characterized by supernatural wisdom.

This developmental journey isn’t linear but cyclical—you’ll revisit earlier stages in new contexts and at deeper levels throughout your leadership lifetime. The key is persistent engagement with the process.

Embracing Your Spiritual Inheritance: From Theory to Transformation

All we’ve explored isn’t merely theoretical—it’s your spiritual birthright as a believer. Imagine leading from a place where wisdom isn’t limited by education, experience, or intellectual capacity—where every decision is informed by intelligence that transcends human limitations.

This isn’t unattainable idealism; it’s the practical reality made available through Christ’s redemptive work. You have been restored to humanity’s original design—walking in unhindered communion with God as Adam and Eve did before the Fall. This restoration isn’t partial or theoretical; it’s comprehensive and practical.

As you step into this inheritance, recognize that it requires both grace and discipline. Divine intelligence is freely given through relationship with Christ, yet fully accessing it demands intentional development of your spiritual capacity. Like a musician who is given a priceless instrument—the gift is free, but mastery requires dedication.

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Assessment: Evaluating Your Current Engagement with the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

Take a moment to honestly assess your current relationship with the Spirit of Jesus Christ and the divine wisdom of Elohim by considering the following dimensions:

Awareness: How conscious are you of the mind of Christ and the wisdom of the Father as a leadership resource? Do you instinctively turn to the Holy Spirit when facing challenges, or is Elohim’s guidance an afterthought when human wisdom proves insufficient?

Access: How consistently do you create space for divine communion? Have you established reliable practices that facilitate spiritual perception, or is your engagement sporadic and circumstantial?

Application: How readily do you apply divine insights to practical leadership situations? Do you move confidently on spiritual impressions, or do you hesitate due to doubt or fear?

Alignment: How fully have you aligned your leadership paradigm with the values and priorities of Jesus Christ? Does your decision-making naturally flow from Kingdom of God principles revealed by the Holy Spirit, or do you compartmentalize your relationship with the Father and your practical leadership?

Advancement: How intentionally are you developing your capacity for divine intelligence? Are you actively learning, practicing, and refining your spiritual perception, or have you plateaued at a comfortable level?

Be honest with yourself about where you currently stand in each of these dimensions. This isn’t about self-judgment but about establishing a clear starting point for growth.

Reflection Questions for Deeper Engagement with the Spirit of Jesus Christ

To help you move forward in your journey toward greater partnership with Elohim and the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, prayerfully consider the following reflection questions:

1. Foundational Awareness: When was the first time you experienced the Holy Spirit providing wisdom beyond your natural understanding? How did that encounter with God’s wisdom shape your understanding of leadership in Christ?

2. Current Practices: What specific practices currently help you access divine intelligence? Which of these practices seems most effective, and why might that be?

3. Growth Barriers: What obstacles most frequently hinder your access to the mind of Christ and the voice of the Father? Are these primarily external circumstances, internal mindsets that resist the Holy Spirit, or relational dynamics that distract you from communion with Elohim?

4. Transformative Moments: Describe a situation where divine intelligence dramatically altered your leadership approach. What made you receptive to that divine perspective in that moment?

5. Developmental Intention: What specific aspect of divine intelligence do you most need to develop at this stage of your leadership journey? What practical steps could you take to grow in this area?

6. Relational Dynamics: Who in your life consistently demonstrates access to divine intelligence? What might you learn from observing their practices and perspectives?

7. Application Opportunities: What current leadership challenge most needs the input of divine intelligence? How might you specifically create space to receive that insight?

8. Identity Integration: How fully have you embraced your identity in Christ as someone designed for communion with Elohim? What lingering doubts about your relationship with the Father or misconceptions about the Spirit of Wisdom might be limiting your access to divine guidance?

9. Environmental Creation: How could you restructure your leadership environment to be more conducive to divine intelligence? What adjustments to physical spaces, schedules, or team culture might facilitate greater spiritual perception?

10. Legacy Consideration: How would your leadership impact change if the mind of Christ became your primary operating system rather than an occasional supplement? What might this mean for those you lead when they see you fully yielded to the Spirit of Jesus Christ and the wisdom of the Father in all your decisions?

Take time to journal your responses to these questions, returning to them periodically to track your growth and refine your understanding.

Conclusion: The Ongoing Journey of Partnership with the Spirit of Jesus Christ

The journey into the mind of Christ and the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation isn’t a destination to reach but a divine partnership to cultivate with Elohim. Like all significant relationships, it grows through consistent attention, honest communication, and mutual commitment. Jehovah God, our Heavenly Father, hasn’t withheld any wisdom you need—He eagerly desires through His Holy Spirit to share His eternal perspective with those who seek Him with their whole heart.

As you continue this journey, remember that growth in divine intelligence isn’t merely for your benefit but for the transformation of everything you influence. When leaders access divine wisdom, organizations flourish, cultures transform, and seemingly impossible challenges find resolution.

Begin today by creating intentional space for divine communion. Listen before planning, seek before speaking, and receive before achieving. As you do, you’ll discover that divine intelligence isn’t merely a leadership strategy—it’s the fulfillment of your original design and the pathway to your greatest impact.

The wisdom of Elohim that crafted the universe is available for your next decision. The intelligence of the Spirit of Jesus Christ that orchestrates galaxies is accessible for your current challenge. The perception of Adonai that sees the end from the beginning is waiting to guide your next step. Your journey into divine partnership with the Eternal Father begins with a simple invitation: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening,” opening yourself to the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that transforms ordinary leaders into vessels of divine purpose.

I would love for you to join me October 19–23, 2026 | Monday–Friday,

As a Paid Subscriber to my Substack, I want to offer the All Access Package for free! Just reply to this email and say “All Access”

What the Challenge is About

Have you ever felt stuck in a season where doors aren’t opening, resources are changing, plans have been disrupted, and you’re trying to discern what God is doing?

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Over five focused days, we’ll explore how to navigate seasons of transition, recognise what God may be doing, and move forward with greater clarity, faith, and obedience.

DAY 1 — DISCERN
Hindrance or Holy Redirection?

How do you know whether you are facing resistance you should push through or a door God may be closing?

We’ll look at biblical principles for discerning the difference between spiritual opposition, ordinary difficulty, and divine redirection.

DAY 2 — RELEASE
Destiny in the Detour

Sometimes moving forward requires releasing what has ended.

Discover how God can redeem disruption, disappointment, closed doors, changing relationships, and unexpected endings—and why the detour may actually be preparing you for what comes next.

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Beyond the Brook

What happens when something that once sustained you begins to dry up?

Using Elijah’s journey at the Brook Cherith, we’ll explore what it means to trust God as our Source rather than becoming dependent on the channels He has used in previous seasons.

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Crossing the Threshold

Sometimes the breakthrough we are waiting for is on the other side of obedience.

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Stepping Into the Unmapped

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• Five days of live biblical teaching

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My prayer is that these five days will help you discern what God is doing, release what has ended, trust Him in uncertainty, and courageously take your next step.

If you know you’re in a season of transition—or you simply sense that God is preparing you for something new—I would love for you to join me October 19–23, 2026 | Monday–Friday

With expectancy,

Glenn Bleakney

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