Transition - Part 4

Community Is Necessary...Leadership Is Essential

How do we prepare for destiny? It is not accomplished independently. It is attained through community and a joining of the generations. Just as we are transitioning as individuals, God is transitioning generations. The generation that has led us is now shifting to an advisory capacity. Like Moses, they have been forerunners; they have led the way into the depths of God. Now they are needed to counsel and advise the next generation. Leaders like John Paul Jackson, Lou Engle and Mike Bickle represent a transitional generation that can join generations together. They are “raising up” the next generation to recognize their destiny before they are ensnared by the cares of this world.

The body of Christ has previously not sufficiently prepared young believers to face the demonic onslaught of our day. This is why many Christians involved in the arts and entertainment lose their way and never accomplish God’s plan. They settle for popularity or wealth, when God desired them to confront the culture with His kingdom. Elvis Presley was a youth pastor at an Assembly of God church when he was discovered. He frequently sang hymns and read the Bible amidst his own parties. The enemy got a hook in his dominion gifting due to corrupt people and their love for money; they led Elvis in the wrong direction. People would not tell him the truth or hold him accountable to what God called him to do and to be. Elvis did not have to give up serving the Lord to sing. Pat Boone is an example of one who never allowed his dominion gift to be overcome by the spirit of this world. Today, his entire family is serving the Lord.

It Begins In The Local Church

The church must be committed to transforming the lives of those whom God has entrusted to their care. In the local church, there are entrepreneurs with a dominion gift to change and transform the business community. These leaders should receive exceptional spiritual training through their local church. The church should bring them into an intimate encounter with the Lord, and train them how to prevail in prayer and spiritual warfare. The church isn’t to just take money from business leaders and build more buildings and programs. Many business leaders are apostles sent into the “commerce” mountain to bring the kingdom of God to that dimension of culture in their city or region. The church needs to train and equip leaders in hearing God and spiritual warfare. Then these young leaders will be able to speak life to those in authority over them in the business culture as to what is beneficial to the business. They will have supernatural answers and solutions for problems for which nobody has remedies. The Word tells us that:

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days

That the mountain of the Lord’s house

Shall be established on the top of the mountains,

And shall be exalted above the hills;

And all nations shall flow to it.

Isaiah 2:2 NKJV

This means that the Lord and those who follow Him will rule and reign above every other sphere of influence; He will accomplish this through His people exercising their authority in their dominion gifting. The above scripture is a direct reference to the re-establishing of the Tabernacle of David…the place of intimate encounter, worship and prayer. This burning intimate worship and intercession became the fuel for operating in dominion authority, as was exemplified in King David for whom the tabernacle was named (see Acts. 15:15-18; Amos 9:11-13), and also in the life of the Lord Jesus Himself.

Many believers are overcome by the spirit of the world. If they had been trained in intimacy and prevailing prayer from childhood, they would be ruling rather than facing defeat in their dominion gift. Many young celebrities are overcome by the spirit of the world because they never received correct spiritual training or discipline for character development. They were not ready to rule. We are all prone to be self-centered and consumed by the trappings of this world. We can’t be mediocre, which again means that we stop half way up the mountain. We are to overshadow the mountains of business, entertainment and government through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring transformation for all who have ears to hear.