(Be blessed by this powerful word by guest blogger, Luc Niebergall)

Doing ministry full-time as an author, itinerant minister and pastor, I get to hang around a lot of different church groups. Something I have noticed while ministering is that we can be very accustomed to only receiving the aspects of Jesus which don’t threaten what is comfortable to our personalities.

What do I mean by this? Well, let me tell you:

For some of us when the prophetic is being released, we are quick to get excited because we love the Now Word of of the Lord. Or when miracles, signs and wonders are taking place, we are quick to embrace these expressions of God’s heart.

For some of us who are more analytical in our way of thinking, we might have more trouble receiving these aspects of who Jesus is. It can be hard for us because supernatural manifestations don’t fit into our intellectual grid.

It can be a dangerous thing to allow offense to swell simply because we don’t understand something God is doing. When we reject prophecy in our churches because of an offense, we are in fact rejecting Jesus the Prophet from ministering in our churches. When we allow offense to swell when God is releasing miracles, then in our hearts we are actually compartmentalizing how we will receive from Jesus. Our offense will actually stand in the way from us receiving from Jesus the Miracle Worker.

For others of us who are more emotionally driven than intellectually stimulated, we may have trouble receiving when people are teaching the written Word of the Lord. We need to understand that when we reject the expression of how God chooses to minister, then we are actually rejecting the source of the expression. When we dismiss the teachings of the Lord, we are actually rejecting Jesus the Teacher.

Something I have noticed in many church circles is that as soon as someone comes and walks alongside of us trying to challenge and champion us to walk in healthy relationships, we are quick to push aside the advice. If someone tries to teach us how to embrace and work through conflict in relationships, we emotionally detach ourselves from the relationships, prior to allowing someone to train us in how to do kingdom conflict.

This form of response comes most commonly from those who are more introverted. This is unfortunate because when we aren’t willing to receive training in the realm of relationships then we are actually rejecting Jesus the Pastor from ministering to us.

We need to make the decision to not allow our personality to become a stumbling block from Jesus doing work in our heart. Just as Jesus loves and receives us just the way we are, we need to make the decision to receive Him just the way He is.

This will cost us our comfort. This will cost us laying down our offense towards certain aspects of Him. However, our comfort and offenses are a small price to pay if our reward is receiving Jesus’ full leadership in our lives.

Please pray with me: “Jesus, I receive you as my Apostle. Give me vision and guidance for kingdom expansion. Jesus, I receive you as my Prophet. Teach me to hear and declare your word. Jesus, I receive you as my Evangelist. Give me a heart for the lost and step me out of my comfort zone. Jesus, I receive you as my Pastor. Teach me to walk in healthy-kingdom relationships. Jesus, I receive you as my Teacher. Stir a deep passion in me for your written Word. I receive you in the fullness of who you are.”

(Luc Niebergall lives in Calgary, Alberta with his wife Eline where he ministers as the assistant pastor of Imagine Church. Luc has a passion for revival and to see heaven invade earth across the world. Please visit his blog at www.lucniebergall.com)