I have a friend who regularly reminds me that I am a forerunner. I didn’t used to understand why, but as I have pursued the revelation of life and immortality I have come to understand more of why he, a fellow forerunner, always reminds me of that. It’s because he has been there, knows how difficult it can be, and is trying to ease my way.
When I put out my book Faith To Raise The Dead, I had multiple people ask me the question “How can you write a book about raising the dead if you haven’t raised the dead yet?” While writing the book I wrestled with this very idea. What I realized is that lots of people teach things they haven’t done and we consider it perfectly normal and/or reasonable. Science teachers teach about volcanoes, water currents, outer space, atoms and subatomic particles, cellular respiration, and all sorts of other natural phenomenon and physiological processes they have never personally witnessed. History professors teach about cultures they have never actually encountered personally. People teach business courses all the time who have no actual experience running a business. It is actually quite common in higher education to do exactly that, and it happens in the Church as well.
End-times prophecy is a perfect example of this. We have well-known speakers, authors, and teachers who have deeply involved understanding of their subject matter, but at the end of the day it is technically 100% conjecture considering not a single one of them has ever actually “experienced” the end times they are speaking about. People flock to conferences, buy books, and are glued to television programs with these individuals discussing these theories that don’t even really influence our day-to-day lives, but when someone talks about raising the dead, living in divine health, or living forever the first thing many point to is the fact that I haven’t lived it all experientially yet.
The thing about forerunners is that we don’t always have all the details worked out yet, but we are the people who get everyone moving in the right direction to begin with. We are the innovators who spread the message to get the early adopters on board. As with any new idea, invention, etc. the innovators and early adopters face the most ridicule because they are willing to step out and take a risk with no guarantee of return. However, that risk-taking eventually pays off when everyone else hops on board and wishes they had started earlier.
One of the threats forerunners face is Imposter Syndrome—the fear that you risk being exposed as a fraud for what you are doing; that someday your areas of lack will be exposed and people will see you for “who you really are.” As I said before, I really had to fight this idea as an author because I haven’t raised the dead yet, but I realized that I’m not an imposter just because I haven’t been successful yet. I have learned a lot through my experiences as I have pursued resurrection, and God has taught me even more as I have continued on this path. The same is happening with the revelation of abundant life and immortality—God is revealing new levels and aspects of this truth even though I have yet to live in the fullness of this promise that Jesus gave his disciples.
The apostle Paul ran into this same problem, to the point that he repeated himself twice when speaking to the Philippians about this in Phillippians 3:12-14, saying, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul was very clear that he had not already attained the fullness of the revelation he was preaching, but he didn’t let it stop him from proclaiming the revelation.
I had a dream the other night that seemed to suggest there are two main ways God gives us a message He wants us to carry. The first is as a prophetic revelation, and this typically comes first. Prophetic messages are often those given by the forerunners, as they are speaking of realities that have not manifested as of yet. The second are apostolic messengers—those who have lived out the message, have struggled through the ups and downs as they have pioneered the experience, and who have become the living embodiment of that which they speak. Neither means of carrying a message is better than the other, nor is either inferior to the other; they are simply different. Apostolic messengers carry the experiences within them, while the prophetic messenger is often speaking of things he or she has yet to attain to. It is important to understand whether a message is prophetic or apostolic as defined above, as prophetic messages are those that place us in greater danger of Imposter syndrome.
Finally, it is important to have our approval grounded in God’s love for us instead of in the accolades found by other humans. If we find our solace in the encouragement and agreement of other people then when discouragement and discord come along we are not going to be able to stand firm and carry the message strong. If we are grounded in the Father’s love and approval of us, then it doesn’t matter what trials or tribulations come our way because we will be filled with an inner strength to hold our ground and lift our standard high.
THanks for this…Reminds me of our great conversation yesterday. Thanks for being a great example of a forerunner! Love ya friend!
I sure appreciate you, my brother. I appreciate that you do indeed run ahead, breaking trail for the rest of us. You are a great blessing to the Body of Christ, and we run better because you’ve been running with us.
There’s a lot to be said for heavens downloading the revelation of our multifaceted God to those who seek to know him and to prepare the way. Agree with you on so many counts in this read. Thank you Michael!
Michael,
I recently bought your book, Faith To Raise The Dead, and have learned a lot. I suppose I’m a bit of a forerunner also since the subjects of aging and death have troubled me since I was 5 or 6 years old. That fear led me into a lot of medical research on aging and death since I was young, and I’ve never found any clear reason for aging and death since every cell in the body is completely renewed every few years. That has led into research in other areas to find the answers.
Just after I became a Christian, John 11:25-26 became my foundation scripture. It is the only one that has ever really popped out as a Revealed Word from God, and He told me that is why I’m here.
In my life so far, I have only raised 3 things from the dead: a frog, a rabbit, and a goldfish. I had actually forgot about them since they weren’t human, but God recently reminded me, and said they were just the beginning.
Yes!! I love that verse! And I do believe those three will be just the beginning for you. Those who understand we are not designed nor destined to die will see far greater things and will do many greater works than those who limit themselves by their faith in death.
Michael, So glad to call you ‘Friend’. You are indeed a forerunner and one who is NOT walking, but running. Thanks for paving the way for us. Love your heart and what God is doing through you.
I had a vision once of me hooked up to a plow, and I was manhandling it down a field. There were rocks, and roots and hard ground. When I reached the end, I turned and saw people walking in the furrow I had just made, pushing little plastic plows , like a child’s toy. When I asked about it, the Lord said that not everyone is equipped to break ground, but they can follow, once a forerunner has gone before.
Thank you for all you do in breaking ground. Be blessed.
Lately, it seems, that there is a lot of emphasis on teaching only what you walk in. I agree that there is a level of authority that is palpable when the teaching is coming from someone walking in what they are teaching. You can feel it.
However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t value the ones who teach about things that they wholeheartedly believe in. The ones that spend blood, sweat, tears, and time researching something, that God gave them a curiosity for in the first place. They are the dreamers, the “what-ifers”, the ones that take that “I wonder…” and run with it.
Ian Clayton is someone, that most would agree, walks in authority in what he teaches. But for each new thing he teaches on, he started with “I wonder…” Then he went after it.
We need those with the determination to seek new things out. We need to catch the spark that they have and run with it too. I certainly cannot figure out every single thing on my own, no one can. We are not meant to. Together, we all learn different pieces of the puzzle and when we unite, the whole picture comes together.
I may hear someone teaching about one thing and the next day read a book talking about something else and then while praying, a random thought pops into my head, connecting the two together in a way I had never thought of before. It happens to me often.
Sometimes just reading a book will create in me the hope of that new thing being possible. Whether that author walks in what they are teaching, or just believes that it is possible, it opens doors. That door opening, that hope of possibility, is something God can use to push us further along. You are a door opener. You are letting in a little bit of light, hoping that we go towards it and see for ourselves.
Please don’t stop opening doors.
🙂
Thanks!! I think that even just opening a conversation up can give others freedom to start discussing something openly that they were already pondering quietly. And since God usually gives a few pieces of the puzzle to each of us, when everyone connects, we all grow! Thanks for joining the party 🎉