Undistracted Seeking of God’s Face For 21 Days

Welcome!

We at Fusion Ministries are excited about the opportunity to partner with you and your community as you launch the Divine Experiment! We have established some simple requirements and guidelines that will help you participate in the Divine Experiment and envision your community to pursue your twenty-one days together for the most fruitful results!

In addition to these guidelines, we are including some practical suggestions that have proven to work well in communities that have already been through the Divine Experiment. God is already using testimonies from some communities to encourage others.  We are all discovering helpful insights along this journey that we want to make available to you, even as your insights can encourage future communities. We certainly must keep our eyes on Jesus because we haven’t been this way before!

Our Heart

The Lord has entrusted to Fusion the responsibility to steward the Divine Experiment and to encourage and edify not only the village that is participating but also for other potential communities as well. Part of that responsibility is to maintain the integrity of the vision and consistency in the participation so as not to compromise the purpose or outcome of the DE that God has already established in other communities who have participated fully and in partnership.

We highly value Kingdom-focused relationships in Fusion Ministries! Our desire, therefore, is to relate not as an “outside” ministry in this process but as friends who are on a journey together with you. The Lord is establishing partnerships in His Kingdom and He is validating them with His favor and fruitfulness. It is never our intention to be catalytic in a community and not to follow up in continued relationship. Therefore, we value walking alongside you as you participate in the Divine Experiment so we can learn together and share our discoveries with each other and other communities in this process.

From our experience with the Divine Experiment, we have observed a cultural tendency to want to “take something” and retrofit it for ourselves and use it out of its originally intended context.

This violates our core values. Where these values have been violated in previous communities, there has been little if any fruit from the DE. It really matters how prepared you are and how you walk thorugh this process if you want the fruitfulness that God intends for you, your family your congregation and your community.

Context

An important transformation principle is that transformation is not the goal but the fruit of a covenant journey with God and one another in a corporate context of the Body of Christ that results in fundamental lifestyle changes for us all.

What it is Not:

The Divine Experiment is not an end unto itself, The Divine Experiment is something the Lord has birthed to prepare a people to return to covenant relationship with Him for the sake of transformation at a community and societal level.

It is not simply a programmatic tool to accomplish a congregational goal. Neither is it a method to stir people in prayer for a short term. Rather, the Divine Experiment assists us in establishing a Kingdom lifestyle in the Church that is more conducive to attracting the presence of God to our community.

A basic value is that the DE is not designed for just an individual group or single congregation. It is best utilized by multiple leaders and congregations participating together for the purpose of preparing the way for the Lord to come to out larger community in transforming revival. We must be in this together and just for ourselves!

Leaders by their very nature are susceptible to the pitfalls of pride and independence. The DE cuts to the heart of this issue and counters this prevailing American value of leadership. So from the onset, you will experience the challenge of humility, unity, kingdom partnership and transformational vision.

Participation Requirements:

• We ask that every leader participating be in agreement with the spirit and heart of the Divine Experiment as shared in the vision statement: “What is the Divine Experiment”.
• Leaders who commit to the Experiment must lead by setting a personal example. This time of consecration is not to be “delegated” to the praying few but rather a corporate journey together led by the spiritual leaders of the community.
• We ask that at least some activities in the church be replaced by a renewed emphasis on prayer/worship/fasting etc. during this time. The Divine Experiment is not something that is “added” into a busy church schedule but rather a time of refocusing all our energy and attention to seeking the Lord for this season.

Introduction

The American Church has no shortage today of exciting new ideas and programs. These are all found in abundance. We “know” everything about spiritual life except how to live it! Our excited response to the Lord in a moving conference quickly becomes a faint memory when we attempt to walk out our obedience in our already occupied lives. Our time and space is simply too overcrowded for another “thing.”
 
Simultaneously, many believers today are frustrated and grumbling about the lukewarm, compromised Church.  We complain into the air, hoping somebody out there will do something about it!  But who?

God is calling those who are disillusioned and discontent to become forerunners and deliverers for multitudes who are caught in the mediocre, compromised status quo. If we don’t respond to God, then who will? And if not now, when? What are we waiting for?

The “Divine Experiment” was born out of the desperation to break free from the routine of the status quo and the bondage of the spirit of the world that has infiltrated our lives as believers. It is also a challenge to those who share the conviction that the Church is in a dangerous place spiritually and that without God’s intervention on behalf of His people, we have no hope…

Seeking God’s face is an important component in renewing covenant with God (2 Chron. 7:14). Our faces represent the essence of who we are. Therefore, seeking God’s face is drawing close to Him personally. Jesus addressed this principle in the Sermon on the Mount when He said “seek and you will find”. Jeremiah 29:13 addresses the same principle: “you will seek Me and find me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Seeking Him with all our heart is an undistracted pursuit, giving Him our full attention.

The “Divine Experiment” prepares us for the presence of God so that He feels welcome in our hearts, lives, families, congregations, businesses, and communities. The first stage of presence-based transformation is focused primarily on prayer, repentance and seeking God’s face in intimacy. Some key passages of Scripture to prayerfully consider during this stage are: 2 Chronicles 7:14, Joel 2, Hosea 4, Isaiah 59, Rev. 3, etc.

The “Divine Experiment” is a “fast” from the status quo; it is unto consecration and greater intimacy with God. We can do this by: 

• Using our time in a way that is more conducive to connecting with the Lord
• Removing regularly scheduled programs and non-essential activity for a short period of time
• Repenting of sin and compromise in our lives, turning back wholeheartedly to God, and applying the lifestyle principles of Jesus’ Kingdom (Matthew 5, 6, 7) to our lives.

Jesus rebuked 5 of the 7 churches He wrote to in the book of Revelation specifically for becoming like the city and culture where they were placed. They assimilated to the lifestyle and values of their culture and lost their true identity as God’s lampstand. The Church of Laodicea, whom Jesus called “lukewarm,” thought they were rich and had need of nothing, when in fact Jesus said they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” (Rev 3:17). His counsel to them was to buy gold refined in the fire, to take white garments to cover the shame of their nakedness, and eye salve to anoint their eyes so that they could see (3:18).

Let’s take the counsel of Jesus! Think of the “Divine Experiment” as a time to “buy gold” refined in the fire, deepening our spiritual equity and authority in God as we cleanse our hearts and lives from the effects of the spirit of the world.

The New Testament calls all believers to a sanctification process, i.e., to crucify their sinful and soulish self by identifying with Christ at the cross. We are to put aside our “old self” with its self-centered practices and put on a new redeemed self like a garment that “is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Col 3:10). In Christ we clothe our new self “with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12). Unlike the self-centered person, our redeemed self should bear with the faults of others, forgive those who sin against us, just as Jesus has forgiven us. Above all else the believer’s highest virtue is love (Col 3:13-14).

This is a “Divine” experiment because our confidence is in God’s desire and faithfulness not just to meet us if we give Him opportunity in our schedules, but also to change us in the process. It’s an “experiment” because we have not trusted God in this way or given Him opportunity to break into our “religious” lives and schedules. Shouldn’t we at least pause in our busy schedules for a heart and life realignment?

Because the spiritual “sickness” of the church is so pervasive, the prescription must be radical. Therefore, we are asking those who are willing to participate in the “Divine Experiment” to set aside 21 days in their personal and church calendar “to humble themselves, pray and seek God’s face, and turn from their wicked ways” as a necessary step forward in the preparation stage for community transformation.
 
Setting ourselves apart and returning to covenant with the Lord, examining ourselves in light of His holiness, and departing from the spirit of the world to pursue life in His Kingdom, are critical first steps in the transformation process of a community.

Daily Heart Examination

Understanding that this exercise is intended to restore us to covenant relationship and intimacy with God, we are asking participants to follow God’s own “prescription” for returning to covenant in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Therefore during this time our focus will be humbling ourselves before the Lord, recognizing His greatness and our weak spiritual condition, and appealing to God’s mercy to deliver us. We must pray and seek God’s face for increased intimacy with Him, and we must turn from our wicked ways; this means real change from the ways of this world to the value system of His Kingdom

The following are some suggestions to help you connect in intimacy with the Lord by fasting from or limiting during the “Divine Experiment”:

• To resist the spirit of materialism and consumerism, we must decrease our spending and increase our giving to something outside ourselves.
• To counter the busyness in our lives, limit or eliminate unnecessary meetings/activities. “God works on behalf of those who wait for Him” (Is. 64:4)
• To counter our preoccupation with entertainment/media/internet, take steps to limit our participation, and fill ourselves with God’s Word. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2).
• To counter the lust of our flesh and physical appetites, consider doing a Daniel fast, or some form of fasting food during this time. “Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).
• To counter our “unruly and defiling” tongue, guard our hearts from the pointing the finger, gossip, slander, and judging others. “He who guards his mouth preserves his life” (Pro 13:3a).
• To counter the spirit of pride, self-confidence, and human wisdom, take steps to deliberately humble ourselves in dependence on God and His wisdom. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up” (Jas 4:10).
• To counter the spirit of unbelief, re-covenant with the Lord to believe and obey His Word. Stretch our faith in His promises by praying for the sick. “Jesus rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe” (Mark 16:14).
• To counter the spirit of immorality, seek God’s forgiveness for any unclean action or thought.  Re-covenant with our eyes, lips, ears, and “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom 12:1-2).

During this season of consecration, there will be resistance on two fronts: First, the enemy will come with the temptation to grumble and complain about a pursuit of God that requires denying ourselves. Secondly, our flesh will resist a call for pressing into God. But although our flesh is at war with our spirit (Gal 5:17), the Lord promises that if we “walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 516).

Don’t be overwhelmed or surprised by the reaction of your flesh or the attempts of the enemy to keep you stuck in the status quo of your life. Take the instruction of James in 4:7-8: “Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Once we fight through this spiritual barrier, our flesh will yield to the Holy Spirit, and we will have victory. Recognize the attempt of the enemy to make you back off; he knows what an important component this is in seeking God’s face and finding Him. One of his choice weapons in the battle is unbelief; you may think to yourself: “I could never do that.”

We must take a step of faith to move from where we are to a renewed pursuit of God’s face, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). The motivation for our faith is the assurance “He rewards those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6c).

This process with the Lord and the fruit of our convictions should be applied on 3 levels: (1) personally in our own walk with God; (2) within the context of our families (3) together as a congregational family.
Goal

The goal of the Divine Experiment is to prepare the Church to become a dwelling place for God’s presence so that His glory and life would be reflected resulting in salvation of the lost and transformation of the community. This necessarily involves spiritual disciplines such as: prayer, worship, fasting, unity, reconciliation, repentance, forgiveness, pursuit of holiness, health, and healing (emotionally, spiritually, and physically). The “Divine Experiment” is a time of consecration before the Lord and with one another. This is a personal AND corporate action. After a time of consecration before the Lord, our appetite for God’s presence will have increased! If we recover our hunger for God, and return to Him in humility and righteousness, He will draw near to us in tangible way. Then the presence and reality of Jesus will be in our midst, bringing forth life and making us effective in reaching the lost and bringing transformation to the community.