Trusting Your Emotions vs. Your Thoughts

Doug Addison | InLight Connection

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Trusting Your Emotions vs. Your Thoughts

In this special excerpt, Ray Leight unpacks some core lies that are hindering the Church right now.

May 9, 2024 • Doug Addison

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In this special excerpt, Ray Leight unpacks some core lies that are hindering the Church right now.

Below are some notes from our Partners-only Monthly Mentoring Session. These sessions have been recorded and you can access them by becoming a Partner today! Find out more at DougAddison.com/TimeOff.

Ray started off the session by saying that one of the areas where he sees the enemy trying to destroy us (and keep us from knowing who we are) is in these phrases: You can’t trust your heart or You can’t trust your emotions. He hears these phrases all the time.

He has even heard this said: If one of your friends lied to you as much as your emotions do, you would no longer be their friend.

Ray made the point that your emotions are never lying to you. Your emotions are always telling you what you feel. You can—100%—trust your emotions 100% of the time to tell you what you are feeling. They’re not telling you anything else. They’re NOT telling you what’s going on around you (that would be discernment).

But if you’re in the place where you’re triggered by fear, shame or guilt, the information you’re getting doesn’t necessarily mean that’s an accurate report of what’s going on. It means that your emotions are just informing you about what you’re feeling.

What we can’t trust are our thoughts, because our thoughts (most of the time) are manifesting our emotions. That’s why we have to capture every thought and bring it into the light so we can make them obedient to Christ.

One of the most common things Ray has seen by people believing that they can’t trust their hearts (and making their emotions something that are untrustworthy) is that the Church has dissociated from their hearts, and they live from their heads. By doing this, the Church is actually still eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of the tree of life.

When we eat from the tree of knowledge, we try to do what’s right and stay away from wrong, and we become “right-and-wrong robots” instead of followers of Jesus. This is the most common thing Ray sees that’s destroying people.

As a new creation, one of the most destructive lies that you can believe is that you are STILL just a sinner with a wicked heart. That will destroy your walk because then you will really believe that you are JUST a sinner.

Faith always manifests itself, so if you truly believe you’re just a sinner, you will manifest sin. Then what you do is … you start trying to manage your behavior because that’s all you can do. If you’re just a sinner with a wicked heart, then that’s what you’ve got to do—you can’t stop sinning.

So, what people think they have to do is manage behavior, and managing your behavior is a lifestyle of sin.

Ray made the point that he was not saying to go out and live whatever life you want to live, because righteous grace does not manifest sin. If we can believe who we are, we can live who we are.

So, remember: One of the core lies that’s keeping us stuck and destroying our walk with the Lord is behavioral management. Trying to manage your righteousness with your behavior is a lifestyle of sin.

InLight Connection thanks Ray Leight for sharing his heart with us.

P.S. Thank you to all of those who partner with InLight Connection and give on a regular basis. You are holding their arms up in the spirit right now, and they are truly grateful. For those who have not yet given or it’s been a while, please consider giving now (or partnering monthly) … to help, just click HERE. Becoming a Partner will give you access to the upcoming guest speaker events. These meetings are going to be POWERFUL!

Doug Addison is the founder and president of InLight Connection. Doug is a prophetic speaker, author and coach. He is known for his Daily Prophetic Words, Spirit Connection podcast and blog. He and his wife Linda live in Los Angeles, California where they are impacting the arts, entertainment and media industries.

Drop Shame to Walk in Your Heavenly Identity

Dan Duval, Doug Addison

In this special excerpt, Dan Duval unpacks the effects of shame in the Church. Below are some notes from our Partners-only Monthly Mentoring Session. These sessions have been recorded and you can access them by becoming a Partner today! Find out more athttps://dougaddison.com/timeoff/http://dougaddison.com/timeoff Dan started out the session by saying that shame is used in the body of Christ for behavior modification. Some people have been subject to this, and while it may lead to a change in behavior, it produces a distancing from God and God's heart. Dan has seen shame, guilt and condemnation work its way into basic philosophy and many backgrounds that everyone’s a part of. Some people have come from certain religious backgrounds that basically say anything you do wrong (anything that causes you to step out of line) deserves to be highlighted. So they feel shame about it, and then there’s a highlight on sin, a constant focus on sin, and then a person’s value becomes anchored to their ability to not sin. In this system, people are reminded that every time they sin, they have failed God, and they should feel really bad. People end up in cycles of performance and they think God hates them. People get frustrated because the only thing they can do is feel bad, and it doesn’t produce closeness or intimacy with God. One of the things it produces is an unhealthy fear of losing salvation. In this mindset, the thinking is … if you do the right thing, you can still go to Heaven when you die, BUT you’re letting God down and He’s ashamed of you. And when that’s the background someone comes from, shame becomes a tool of behavior modification. This sometimes happens because the Church wants people to “look and act Christian.” Dan mentioned that what he’s found is that people who look and act Christian because they’re afraid of consequences or losing their salvation (or that God hates them) … these people are not intimate with God. In this system, it’s hard for people to run to God when things go sideways or if there is a failure of any kind. They just feel robbed and depressed because they don’t think they’re good enough. The thinking is, “If I was good enough, I could make God happy.” People go into all sorts of emotional places, and sometimes this mindset is even taught from the pulpit. Another statement that hasn't helped the situation is this: “You are a no good, low-down, worthless sinner saved by grace.” When that statement is applied, it becomes an identity. People think: “I'm trash and Jesus is good. So, thank God I can be trash saved by Jesus.” The truth is that you WERE a no good, low-down, worthless sinner, but the moment you’re saved, you are a son of God—an heir of God. With Christ, it is completely different. This is the heavenly identity. You are raised and seated with Christ in heavenly places. “Shall you not judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:3) That’s the heavenly identity. There is so much in the New Testament about the heavenly identity, and even in the Old Testament, preparing us to see in full view what Jesus would accomplish in His death, burial, and resurrection. Shame anchors people to a false identity for the sake of behavior modification, but it’s a big backfire. People usually need to be delivered of that sin consciousness. The focus has to be put on the finished work of Jesus Christ, the grace of God and the heavenly identity. As we focus on who God is, His forgiveness, and the finished work of Christ, we can receive the grace to walk free of sin. This is not from a place of fear of consequences but more from a place of intimacy, desire and identity. InLight Connection thanks Dan Duval for sharing his heart with us! P.S. Thank you to all of those who partner with InLight Connection and give on a regular basis. You are holding their arms up in the spirit right now, and they are truly grateful. For those who have not yet given or it’s been a while, https://dougaddison.com/timeoff/ … to help, just click https://dougaddison.com/timeoff/ Becoming a Partner will give you access to the upcoming guest speaker events. These meetings are going to be POWERFUL! Doug Addison is the founder and president of InLight Connection. Doug is a prophetic speaker, author and coach. He is known for his Daily Prophetic Words, Spirit Connection podcast and blog. He and his wife Linda live in Los Angeles, California where they are impacting the arts, entertainment and media industries.

The 7 Times Jesus Shed His Blood for Us

June 6, 2024 • Doug Addison

In this special excerpt, James Goll pulls back the curtain on some interesting prophetic facts. Below are some notes from our Partners-only Monthly Mentoring Session. These sessions have been recorded and you can access them by becoming a Partner today! Find out more at http://dougaddison.com/timeoff James Goll started the session by pointing out that the blood of Jesus was shed seven distinct times. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22:44 NIV This was in the Garden of Gethsemane. The first time Jesus shed his blood was in prayer. He was praying fervently, His capillaries burst and His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him Matthew 26:67 NIV Jesus was struck with fists. This is the second time His blood was shed. James pointed out Micah 5:1 for a prophetic reference and also mentioned that Jesus was struck with rods. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Isaiah 50:5–6 NIV Isaiah says that they took hold of chunks of his beard, and they pulled it out. That would shed blood. This is the third instance of His blood being shed. Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Mathew 27:26 NIV In this verse, Jesus was not crucified yet, and his blood was shed when he was flogged. This was the fourth instance of His blood being shed. And then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. Mathew 27:29 NIV The crown of thorns produced blood. That was the fifth instance of His blood being shed. This was prophesied in Isaiah 52:13–14: See, my servant will act wisely: he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness. The sixth instance when His blood was shed was when His hands and feet were pierced with the nails (Mathew 27). And the seventh time His blood was shed was when the soldier pierced His side. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. John 19:34 KJV InLight Connection thanks James Goll for sharing his heart with us! P.S. Thank you to all of those who partner with InLight Connection and give on a regular basis. You are holding their arms up in the spirit right now, and they are truly grateful. For those who have not yet given or it’s been a while, https://dougaddison.com/timeoff/ … to help, just click https://dougaddison.com/timeoff/ Becoming a Partner will give you access to the upcoming guest speaker events. These meetings are going to be POWERFUL! Doug Addison is the founder and president of InLight Connection. Doug is a prophetic speaker, author and coach. He is known for his Daily Prophetic Words, Spirit Connection podcast and blog. He and his wife Linda live in Los Angeles, California where they are impacting the arts, entertainment and media industries.

Mentoring the Prophetic

June 3, 2024 • Doug Addison

In this special excerpt, Cindy Jacobs shared insight about some needed things in the prophetic movement right now. Below are some notes from our Partners-only Monthly Mentoring Session. These sessions have been recorded and you can access them by becoming a Partner today! Find out more at http://dougaddison.com/timeoff Cindy started off the session by saying that those who are interested and supportive of prophets are either prophetic intercessors, prophets themselves, or are on their way. For those who are just learning about the prophetic, Cindy mentioned that she wishes someone would have helped her in her early days. She feels like she would have made fewer mistakes. Early on in her ministry, she thinks she could have done a better job in her delivery. This is often the case with prophets when they are starting out, and that’s. That’s one of the reasons she wrote some of her books. We can learn to be skillful at giving prophetic words, or how we apply or pray about them. The gift of prophecy is very important. To emphasize this, Cindy mentioned 1 Corinthians 14, which talks about the importance of the prophetic gift. She pointed out that in verse one, the Bible says that we should eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. We should fervently and passionately desire the prophetic. Cindy went on to mention how much easier it is to find correlating Bible verses and information now. When she first started preaching 45 years ago, she had a room full of study books. It used to take her hours. She shared some memories of one of their first prophetic conferences when Dutch Sheets gave a word about “setting a trumpet to your mouth.” This helped Cindy as she was really pursuing the prophetic at the time. She was just launching into the deep. Back then, she also met Bishop Bill Hammond, who she considers to be the father of the modern-day prophetic movement. Cindy mentioned that she first prophesied when she was four years old. She prophesied the birth of her little sister … She just knew things! There’s a lot of discussion about whether you are born with a prophetic gift or if you can develop it. When Cindy wrote her book, The Voice of God, she interviewed many different prophets to try to get to the bottom of this question. There's natural wisdom then there's wisdom given by God. Cindy emphasized that it's so important to develop prophetic gifts. We need all the gifts to manifest! She said that it's wonderful to see all the gifts of the Holy Spirit and all the offices functioning together. Cindy thinks that we need to go back and teach on the offices (some of the basics). In the 1980s, these were taught a lot … In the 1990s, there was more of a focus on the prophets and prophecy … Many people don’t have the proper foundations and it would be good to go back and lay those foundations again. InLight Connection thanks Cindy Jacobs for sharing her heart with us! P.S. Thank you to all of those who partner with InLight Connection and give on a regular basis. You are holding their arms up in the spirit right now, and they are truly grateful. For those who have not yet given or it’s been a while, https://dougaddison.com/timeoff/ … to help, just click https://dougaddison.com/timeoff/ Becoming a Partner will give you access to the upcoming guest speaker events. These meetings are going to be POWERFUL! Doug Addison is the founder and president of InLight Connection. Doug is a prophetic speaker, author and coach. He is known for his Daily Prophetic Words, Spirit Connection podcast and blog. He and his wife Linda live in Los Angeles, California where they are impacting the arts, entertainment and media industries.