THE PARABLE OF THE CHICKEN
There once was an eagle egg that was put into a chicken coop, and he was raised most of his life thinking he was a chicken. The eaglet was born to fly and soar and catch fish and hunt, but he didn't know anything different than pecking.
Many of us are like the eagle in this story. We go around scratching at the dirt but something inside of us knows that we weren't made for that. We know that we were created for more than this place of captivity.
One day, the farmer left the cage door open and the eagle decided to go and explore. He saw all the other birds flying around in the sky, but he had no idea he could do the same thing because he was unaware that he was an eagle.
Suddenly the wind (the Holy Spirit) began to blow and lift his wings. He looked around wondering what happened... What was this wonderful feeling??
Sometimes we don't really know who we are until the Spirit and the wind begins to blow around us, through us, and over us!
He looked over at his brothers and sisters and asked them to come out with him, but they say, "Oh no we can't do that. That's too scary we are just chickens. We have to scratch around to get by."
The eagle thought to himself, "I've never really fit in here. I think there's more to life than this." As he was standing on the rock looking back at the cage where he came from, he exclaimed, "I'm never going back there!" One problem though... he was still on the ground. He wondered, "How do I fly like those birds up there?"
He had a completely new lifestyle, and didn't really know what to do with it because of strongholds in his mind. Sometimes we have been in a cage in the natural for so long, we don't realize there is also a cage in the mind. Christ comes and brings us out of the cage physically, but we can still fell like we are bound because there's a cage in the mind.
Suddenly, the wind came stronger and he was awakened. He realized he had big wings that were made to fly! The wind began to take the eagle up and he soared high in the sky just as God had designed him!
Who told you, you were a chicken? You were made to fly!
Yet those who wait for the Lord, will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary. ~ Isaiah 40:31
Sometimes we have been put into places of captivity in our minds. But the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). God wants us to come into the place where there is more! Jesus has come down to teach us how to fly! He's come to show us what can happen when we come out of the cage! The fear of death has made us slaves (Hebrews 2:15) and we are enslaved in our minds, but Jesus come from above and came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10.
Churches always have a lost and found box with items inside such as jackets, coffee mugs, etc. The lost and found box is a place where things that are lost get put together so those who lose something can find it. Through the law of attraction, that which is lost tends to connect with other things that are lost. Lost people tend to hang out with other people who are lost. The lost people can't find their way around even with help from each other. Jesus came to save that which was lost! This is the power of our God and the power of His love!
In the Parables, Jesus tells us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like!
Luke 15
A lost sheep: When one sheep is lost, even when there are 99 others, the Father cries, "I want what belongs to Me, because I love them!" The Father finds the lost sheep and brings it back to the fold. You can't just find another sheep, you want that sheep. That's the sheep that is lost!
The Lost Coin: A woman's coin in Bible times was a dowry so she could get married. The woman would wear her dowry strung in her hair or garments. The only way a woman would spend this vital coin is if she was starving and her husband was gone. She couldn't just get another coin. The woman cries, "Come help me find the coin that is lost!"
A son who is lost: Many of us have heard the story of the Prodigal Son so many times, but we can miss the point of the story! The story is not about the son as some would believe... It's about how much the Father loves the sons and how much the sons don't understand love. The Father rejoices when he finds that which is lost!
It's like losing one of the most valuable things you own and then suddenly finding it in the lost and found!
The prodigal son went to his father and demanded that the father give him his inheritance immediately, and the father divided the wealth between his two sons.
The son then squandered his estate with loose living, and a famine came in the land.
Discontent brings discontent. His longing for pleasure brought only more longing and dissatisfaction.
In verse 17, the prodigal son thought to himself how his father's workers ate better than he was currently in the pig pen. He decided to go back to his father's house and ask him if he could be his servant.
Even though both sons had a precious inheritance from the father and all that the father had was theirs, they had a mindset of bondage. We can get out of the cage, but if the cage is still in our minds, we are not truly free!
Verse 20 illustrates how the father came running to the prodigal son. It is the same for us! Jesus came running to us while we were a long way off! The Father sees just where we are right now. This part of the story is unusual for Jewish fathers in Bible times; fathers didn't run back then. But this father felt compassion, ran, and embraced his son! The son cried, "I am no longer worthy to be your son!"
We were never worthy! There is only ONE found worthy!! It's always about the love of the one who created us.
The Father didn't even hesitate! He said, "Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found." They then began to celebrate!!
The other son was angry and not willing to go into the party even though the father pleaded with him because he didn't feel like he got what he deserved! What he didn't realize was EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAD WAS HIS!
God allows things to come into our lives that don't seem fair, but favor cannot come in fairness. What is fair is that we are judged because "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) However, His favor lasts for a lifetime!
What the two sons didn't understand was that their greatest inheritance was Him, the Father!
The older son had a religious spirit and he found his worth and value in works and not in love. The Prodigal son was motivated by selfish desire and to find contentment and pleasure! They were both idolatrous sons who had a slave mentality; just one was in the church and one wasn't. Neither of them knew the love of the Father!! The breaking point of the two sons came in different ways: one came in the feast (the older son) and one came in the famine (the prodigal son). Sometimes someone else's blessing becomes your test. The older son couldn't handle that the younger son was blessed after squandering his inheritance because he didn't see the Father's house as his house. He saw it as his workplace. He thought he could earn his inheritance and that the younger son wasn't worthy to receive his.
We must pray that we have a correct view of God and then we will have an accurate view of ourselves and then our brothers and sisters! We must ask God to free us from the strongholds in our minds. When we are free in our minds, we will always feel free in the natural and nothing can hold us back!
God, please give us a fresh revelation of your love and the favor and freedom you have for us to walk in every day! Help us to know Your true character and the unending vastness of your love. We ask that You give us grace to see ourselves as you see us and grace to love our brothers and sisters and not be jealous when they are blessed. Thank you so much for your love Lord! Amen.
MINISTRY NEEDS
We need two 60" smart TV's for our sanctuary! Each are about $500 We need air conditioning for the sanctuary and offices
Warring Dove trips to Mozambique, Africa
If you would like to give please mail check to
Warring Dove International
P.O. Box 507 Lawrence, KS 66044
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OPPORTUNITY TO SOW!!
Apostle Lisa just got back from this trip! Thanks so much for praying!
Finances are still needed if you would like to sow see information below!
As a young girl, I remember asking my mother, "How far away is this place?" I was watching the bodies of young soldiers being shipped home from the "conflict." Now God has opened the door for us to go into that same place behind the scenes to bring restoration and hope. While I cannot share more details at this time, I am asking you to pray and keep us covered. Please ask the Lord if He would have you sow into this amazing opportunity!
~ Apostle Lisa McFarland
If you would like to give please mail check to Warring Dove International P.O. Box 507 Lawrence, KS 66044 or give online via PayPal at Wardoves.com
Geta's Mission Trip to Africa!
*STILL NEEDING FUNDS!*
If you would like to give please click on donate button below!!
Please continue to pray for Geta on his trip! He still needs about $3000! He is having a great time with his family. Please pray for strength and health for his grandparents
and for a blessed time for all of them!
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