Understanding the Generations through a 500 Year Snapshot

I’ve never been more excited about this time in history as I am right now. This summer I got into some messages that sparked my attention and brought a lot of strength and confidence to me. They caught my attention for two main reasons:

1. They said things I’d heard of but that I’d never seen so simply and clearly
2. They gave me comfort about my generation, prompted a greater admiration for previous generations, and gave me courage that we’re truly in the greatest time to be alive in Church history.

I’d like to share those things with you to give you courage and comfort as well. Let’s start with a summary of Church Restoration, the Modern vs Postmodern worldviews, and the Moral Cultures of our Society.

The Church Restoration Timeline

The timeline above begins after the Middle Ages, when much of Christianity as displayed in the book of Acts had been diminished. Sudden change came to the world with the 1^st Reformation, when Martin Luther discovered Salvation was available to everyone through faith alone.

After that, restorations kept coming. Each time a big advancement came, the world shifted with it. There were about 100 years for each advancement to settle in before the next one came.^[i]

Then you get to the 1900s. That’s when most of us adults were born, so that’s the timeframe we’ll focus on in a minute. In the 1900s the big advancements continued, but they came much faster. Instead of 100 years to settle, we got only 10 years.

Just a note about the first 5 restorations. The greatest persecutor of each new restoration was always the previous restoration. Members were persecuted to the extreme of martyrdom, not at the hands of non-Christians but of Christians who did not accept the new move of God.^[ii]

The Worldview Timeline

Now let’s look at the world view timeline (in red above). During the major church restorations, a worldview lived in the developed world after industrialization. That worldview was Modernism, which primarily believed that truth can be discovered through science and taught systematically. Education and systems are the means of spreading truth, and truth is declared boldly. Modernism lived a remarkable 300 years.^[iii] That means it was in place before the United States were established, and the vast majority of our history was built in this worldview.

Modernism gave way to Postmodernism in the 1950s. In Postmodernism, truth is individual and can be discovered through experience. It’s shared by social groups and varies group to group. It isn’t so much taught or spread as it is experienced and agreed upon.^[iv] Postmodernism is no older than my parents, and possibly no older than you. In that regard, postmodernism is new on the scene of western and world history.

The Moral Culture Timeline

Now let’s look at the moral culture timeline (in green above). In the western world and beyond, we went through three major moral cultures over the last couple hundred years. The first was the Honor Culture, wherein one’s value comes from his reputation. Because his reputation matters, his word is his bond, and he presents himself according to his reputation.^[v] (In other words, he says and looks like what he is). He must defend his reputation even to the point of death. This was, for example, the culture of the wild-west, where insulting someone could get you killed.

Then came the Dignity Culture. In the Dignity Culture, one’s value is inherent as a human being. Because his value is intrinsic, he doesn’t have to defend his honor socially. ^[vi]  His achievements speak for him, and where needed, the systems will prove him on major issues. He shrugs off small offenses, saying things like “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” He trust the systems in place.

Today, we’re in the Victimhood Culture. In the Victimhood Culture, victimization is virtuous. The extent of one’s victimization holds more weight than his or her character. The systems in place are said to have flaws, and those flaws have victims. Relying on appearance also has flaws, and “all is not as it seems,” since what one looks like may not be what he or she actually is (ie police that do not protect, priests that abuse). So both systems and appearance lose value.^[vii] Instead, one appeals to the masses to resolve both minor and major wrongs.^[viii] It could be argued that since being a victim is virtuous, people must be hypersensitive to their own mistreatment or disadvantage to prove their value. Being established, successful or accomplished means you risk being seen as dominating, making the established/successful person a villain and everyone else the victims. The Victimhood Culture also fosters deep compassion for others and social awareness. This is the culture in the US in which generations Y and Z grew up.

The Parallels

Bishop Hamon points out that every time God does a major work in the earth, technological advances and societal shifts also occur that aid His purpose^[ix].  I wanted to discover these parallels, especially as it relates to the ~5 generations alive today. I also want to see if anything else stands out:

1. The Concentration of Change
   Look on the timeline for the decade in which you were born. Notice anything? Yep, there’s a lot of dots right around your birth! We alive today were born around a historic time of concentrated, abrupt transition. It’s like we’re looking at a giant ship called mankind trying to make a 90-degree turn in the sea of history, and we grew up or were born right in the middle of that turn. The concentration of changes means several things to me:
   1. The “generation gap” between boomers and millennials is not a generation gap at all. It is more like a world history gap. It is not a misunderstanding between parents and children. It’s a change in over 300 years of human thinking!^[x] All generations alive today are in this gap together because we are all at the epicenter of world transformation.
   2. New moves of God become a way of life.
      We have 7 moves of God being restored at once together (2 newer ones not shown in the image). The distinctions between any two moves is less obvious. In past generations, one person only had to adjust to one major transition. Today one person could have to accept (or reject) up to 7 major transitions. For those alive today, Church and life is nothing but
2. The Transition Generation
   Something else is kind of obvious looking at the image. There are some gaps where the thought of society was making its sharpest turn. Those gaps coincide roughly with 1960-1980. Those seem to be the years of greatest transition. It really makes me wonder how aware of cultural transition those born just before and during that time must be! To me, having been born in the 80s, my awareness of cultural transition has come from being taught about it, more than from personal observation. I learned that my worldview was partly postmodern (though I had some modernism from being taught by Moderns in the Church). Looking at this image, I’m increasingly impressed with those older than me, with the incredible flexibility, wisdom and grace they have and their ability to navigate what I now think is one of the most dramatic transitions since Jesus.
   
3. Postmodern Experience and the Pentecostal, Deliverance, Charismatic, Faith + Prophetic Movements
   In the first 5 restorations of the 1900s, all the gifts of the spirit were restored. Immediately after that, the communication of truth changed from systematic discovery and authoritative declaration to personal experience and community. How convenient! Postmodernism says in order for something to be true, one must experience it, and experience it together. Isn’t that how the Kingdom was advanced in the book of Acts, ministering one to another and being jointly fit? And beginning with the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the 1900s, all the way through the gifts, the Church again has all the ingredients needed to demonstrate the experience of God’s Kingdom, possibly for the first time since Acts.
4. Victimhood Culture and the Saints Movement
   One aspect of the Victimhood Culture is the lack of reliance on structure, such as titles and hierarchy. Sadly this often translates into disrespect for authority. Of course, honor and respect for authority is fundamental in God’s Kingdom, and all Believers must demonstrate both from the heart. But I notice something else. When God released the Saints movement in the early 2000s, the shift was that every saint can access and demonstrate the Kingdom of God fully. No longer does your pastor need to pray for you to be healed; you pray for each other to be healed.^[xi] The empowering of the saints to do what previously only clergy did is God’s purpose. Dismantling structure is not God’s purpose. It seems maybe leveling out the hierarchy of society was a human, knee-jerk reaction to the sudden realization that all people are equally able, with their own ministry, purpose, destiny, function, or whatever else you call it. When I relate to members of gen Y and Z, they already have the idea that they are uniquely called by God, that they have their own ministry that doesn’t have to be in a pulpit, and that they can do anything a major leader can do if they trust God to do it in them too. It’s like they know inherently what Bishop decreed long ago, that “the day of the one-man show is over.”^[xii]

So many more societal shifts could coincide with the timeline of Church restoration, and there are more parallels to discover. It should be that way, because everything God wants to do in the earth, He will do through the Church. Seeing it all together helps me really understand the 4 or even 5 generations alive today. And through understanding and humility, we can navigate one of the greatest transitions in history. We can turn it into the most explosive advancement of God’s Kingdom ever seen!

In your field, where does the timeline of shifts and advancements fall on the Church restoration timeline? What parallels do you see?

^[i] Hamon, B. (2003). The Eternal Church: A Prophetic Look at the Church, Her History, Restoration, and Destiny. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image.

^[ii] Hamon, J. (2014). Awakening and Reformation. Lecture presented in Vision Church @ CI, Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

^[iii] Lawson, L. (2017, May 30). Modernism vs Postmodernism. Lecture presented at ACEA 2017 Florida Summit in Vision Church @ CI, Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

^[iv] Cornell, S. W. (2014, April 27). What does postmodern mean? Retrieved June 19, 2017, from https://thinkpoint.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/25/

^[v] Pitts, N. (2017, June 14). BEING A FAITHFUL WITNESS AS A THOUGHT LEADER. Lecture presented at The Bridge Summit 2 in Word of Faith Family Worship Center, Austell, GA.

^[vi] Campbell, B., & Manning, J. (2014). Microaggression and Moral Cultures. Comparative Sociology, 13(6), 692-726. doi:10.1163/15691330-12341332

^[vii] Pitts, N. (2017, June 14). BEING A FAITHFUL WITNESS AS A THOUGHT LEADER. Lecture presented at The Bridge Summit 2 in Word of Faith Family Worship Center, Austell, GA.

^[viii] Campbell, B., & Manning, J. (2014). Microaggression and Moral Cultures. Comparative Sociology, 13(6), 692-726. doi:10.1163/15691330-12341332

^[ix] Hamon, B. (2003). The Eternal Church: A Prophetic Look at the Church, Her History, Restoration, and Destiny. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image.

^[x] Lawson, L. (2017, May 30). Modernism vs Postmodernism. Lecture presented at ACEA 2017 Florida Summit in Vision Church @ CI, Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

^[xi] Hamon, B. (2002). The Day of the Saints: Equipping Believers for Their Revolutionary Role in Ministry. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image.

^[xii] Hamon, B. (2015, January 01). CI Apostolic Network. Retrieved January 01, 2015, from http://www.ciapostolicnetwork.org/

By Dr. Tim Hamon, CEO
Christian International Ministries

We are in the middle of a true reformation. Things are being re-formed, and then formed again. They’re being put into new alignment, a new light and we are re-learning things about the kingdom that have been known for over 2000 years. There are things about the army of the Lord that we are re-learning, nothing is new under the sun. Jesus talked about this in the Gospel and today we are experiencing it. We are re-absorbing it in this time, in our lives, in our place, in our situations.

Each year, in early January, we do the usual Word of the Lord cycle here at Christian International. Everybody prays to get what God is saying for the year to come: what He is saying concerning a change of season and/or what’s happening in the world today. It is not the norm for me to participate in this because there are so many other voices in the house, but this year [2017] I shared what God had impressed upon me: A Year of Influence.

In the natural, we already see signs of this influence. And this influence is growing affecting our judicial systems, businesses and the arts. In fact, all sorts of seven mountain things are happening. So, the signs confirm my belief that this is indeed the year of influence. Being the teacher that I am, I therefore had to research what that actually means and started with the one thing I now knew God was speaking: influence.

What does it mean? How do you get it? To me personally God said,

“Be open to new possibilities, to new opportunities, to new outcomes, to new audiences, to new power and to new authority. There is a new anointing coming upon My Church that’s going forward opening new doors, new places, new opportunities. These opportunities are growing are opening. Don’t miss them!”

How many have heard the term the “sphere of influence”? We always bandy these things around, but most of the time we don’t know what they mean. What is this “sphere of influence”? The reason it’s called a sphere of influence is because of the imagery it produces. Take your arm and use it to measure the radius of a sphere. Then stretch it out in front of you and move it from side to side. Everywhere you can touch is your sphere.  If you can touch it, you can influence it. Influence is not about control. It simply means to cause something (or someone) to respond in the way you want it to. This doesn’t imply control. It implies motivation, opportunity, a way of making things possible. True influence is accomplished in such a way that people want to participate, they want to be a part of it, and they want to take the path that you laid out for them. A path that is viewed as their opportunity.

John Maxwell says it best, “leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” A true leader must be able to influence. Some examples of this would be running a business or pastoring a church. If you are the business owner or a pastor you know that you cannot control your employees or congregation. When you start trying to control, you just set yourself up for failure. As a pastor, you influence: you teach, you counsel, you minister, you visit, you eat their chicken. It is doing whatever you can to be an influence in their lives. Control is not a part of the Kingdom plan but influence is.

God is saying that this is your year of influence. If you are going to influence people, you must therefore lead them. That’s sometimes hard to adjust to, because we often think to ourselves, “But I’m not the leader.” I personally have a leadership title. I’m the CEO of the ministry at CI. But being the CEO only means that I have the authority to act. It doesn’t mean I have the power. Power comes from another source. It doesn’t come from your titles. It comes from what God made you to do, what He intended for you to do and that is to influence people, thereby you lead them.

“Leading someone to the Lord” is a terminology often used in the Church. Yet, what does that really mean? Were you the leader? What did you do? Did you force them to confess? No, you influenced them. How did you influence them? By the power of the gospel. That’s the way you influence them.

So far, I’ve only given my thoughts and my ideas, and my thoughts and my ideas are not valuable unless I can back it up in scripture. Everybody knows the story of The Last Supper (Luke, 22). Before I move on, let me give you a little bit of context; it’s not just the last supper.  It is the final discourse. It’s called the final discourse, because it is the last teachable moment that Jesus has with the disciples before He’s arrested and sent to the cross. He will continue to teach them in other ways once He’s gone, but this is His last opportunity to directly teach them one-on-one.

Jesus knew this was His last opportunity and therefore chose the most important thing. The message who wanted to stick with them after He’s gone. Think about it, if you’re a parent and you’re leaving your teenage children alone for the first time, the last thing you say is usually the thing you want them to remember the most.  And it’s usually something like this, “Don’t invite any people over here without my permission or you’re in trouble.” Jesus is also thinking this same way, and so He shares the most important message with them at that supper.  What does He talk about? Leadership!

Look at verse 25, Jesus said to His disciples, “One of you is going to betray me.”  Concerned, and maybe a little frightened, the disciples start talking to each other, “Who do you think it is? Is it that guy? I never liked that guy much, it must be him. Who is this terrible person?” And then they immediately segue into, “Well if there’s a terrible person among us, there must be a great person among us. So, who’s the greatest?” Jesus finally interrupts them and says, “Hey listen guys, the kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors’” (Benefactors in quotes, because it’s kind of irony. Even Nero is called a benefactor, and that’s obviously not true). Jesus continues, “But not so among you. On the contrary, he who is greatest among you let him be the younger and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater? He who sits at the table or he who serves?” (A rhetorical question everyone knows the answer.) Is it not he who sits at the table?” Yet Jesus says, “I’ve come to be the server.” And He goes on in verse 29 to say, “And I bestow upon you a kingdom just as my father bestowed one upon me.” Here He connects kingdom to leadership. He defines leadership as service. He says, “Look. Let’s talk about it, you guys want to know who’s the greatest? The greatest is the one who serves the most.”  In the book of Matthew, Jesus teaches them the same thing, but it’s in a different setting.  He says, “And He came to serve and not to be served.” He is telling us here that He’s going to serve us in the ultimate way. Soon He will lay down His life to ransom us. That’s the ultimate service. We even say this about the military. Those who have given the ultimate service to their country. Those who laid down their lives. Jesus not only laid down His life, He gave His life. Think about that for minute. He didn’t just lay it down, He gave it to us. We are not only saved because He died and rose again, but we have His life. He gave it to us.

Probably the best illustration of this is in John. We see the same idea, it’s the last supper (or the Passover supper), and Jesus is with the disciples. John chapter 13:4 says, “and having finished the supper He rose and laid aside His garments and took a towel and girded himself.” And after that He poured out water into a basin and began to wash the disciple’s feet. He then wiped their feet with the same towel He had girded himself with. This is not normal! It is not “normal behavior” for someone of His status. Washing of the feet was a normal, daily occurrence for the culture, because the people lived on unpaved roads with animal powered vehicles and open sewage systems. They walked in open toe sandals or bare feet, and their feet got extremely dirty. It was a dirty job, usually given to the person who could not defer it. In other words, the person who had no one left to pass the job down to did the washing. It was the lowest kind of job available to servants in the house, not just a dirty job, not just a menial job, but it’s the lowest job available. Therefore, when Jesus chose to wash the feet of His disciples, He took on (or put upon himself) the aspects of the lowliest of servants.

In verse 12 we read, “So when He had washed their feet He took His garments and sat back down.” Wait a minute! Where were His garments? Remember He took them off. He took off His ‘mantle’ and left His seat. Where was He sitting? He was sitting at the head of the table, because they were having Passover and whoever’s the elder or Lord oversees the meal and presides at the head. Jesus is in charge of the meal. He’s running it. He leaves His seat of authority, takes off His mantle of leadership, bows down at their feet and serves them. And then when He’s done? He gets up, puts the same mantle back on and sits in the same seat. Do you see what happened?

What did it diminish in Jesus to put Him in the lowly servant role? Nothing! It didn’t cost His authority, it didn’t change His position. In fact, Jesus affirms this verbally. It’s not just the picture here. He says it out loud, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? You call me teacher and Lord and you say well so I am. If then your Lord and teacher can wash your feet you also ought to be able to wash each other’s feet. For I’ve given you an example that you should so do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I say to you the servant is not greater than the master or he who is sent greater than he who has sent him. If you know these things blessed are you who do them” (verses 12-13).

He’s saying, ‘Look, I’m the master and the Lord. I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m saying that’s true; and because it’s true, I am able to take off that mantle, get up from that chair and offer this simple every day service to you. I can take care of you without diminishing my role as your master, your teacher, your Lord. If I can do this, so can you. It doesn’t diminish you to serve people in a humble way. In fact, according to Jesus, it’s those acts of service that are making you the leader (Luke, Matthew, Mark). But that is not the way society today thinks. Even today we read these passages, but we don’t think this way. If I’m going to be the leader, what should I do? I should be the most outspoken. I should be in the front. I should have a title. I should have the biggest office.

What makes you the leader? Well according to Jesus, it is your willingness to serve. Okay, then what does it mean to serve? What do we do? Obviously, we’re not going to actually wash each other’s feet, although that’s happened a few times in the Church today as a symbolic act. We don’t need to wash each other’s feet because it’s a different world that we live in.  Yet we are called to serve one another.

Let me just show you what I think he means when he says serve. This is out of 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s very Grace.” Now here’s the interesting part for me, He just said, “be good stewards of God’s gifts that he’s given you,” but look at what he says next, “Whoever speaks, speak as one as an oracle of God. And whoever serves as one who serves with the strength that God supplied” (verse 11).

He sets up two archetypes, He says whatever gift you have use it to serve one another or be a steward of the Grace. And here’s the grace that God gives: Speak. Serve. These are the two kinds of things you can do: use the voice of God, that’s speaking, (It says literally speak as the oracle of God, as the voice of God.) and serve by the power of God. Whether that power is manifested in supernatural ways or natural ways, we are called to serve.

Matthew 25 shows us natural ways; comforting those that mourn or delivering people from a Spirit of mourning. Either one of those is service. One is the voice of God. The other is the strength of God. Everything we do as service to one another is by the gifts that God has given us. Those gifts are both super and natural. Super in the sense of the voice of God Natural in the sense of Him strengthening us to do what we need to do. Whatever those gifts are, according to Peter, your ultimate act of service is to use the gifts God’s given you to help others.

I always struggle a little bit with this, how I can serve people. I can’t really go wash people’s feet, that’s not going to work. Should I wash their cars? What constitutes acts of service? The story of Peter helped me understand that Acts of service are constituted by me using the gifts God has given me through the power of His voice. Through His strength in me, I am equipped to serve others through whatever gifts He’s given me. In that sense, every act of service is going to be unique because it depends on my gifts.

How does this affect us? I believe Jesus wants us to expand our sphere of influence. How are we going to expand our sphere of influence? The most obvious answer, which is also noted in Scripture, is to take our gifts and serve people. When we take our gifts and serve people, we gain a platform from which we can speak into their life. That platform is influence. When we serve our community, in what sometimes may appear as mundane, every day ways, needs are met. Pretty soon we are recognized as one who serves and that opens the door for more.  They might ask, “Can you help us in this area” or “We like that you serve, by the way, we’re struggling in this area. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?” And then you influence.

When we don’t get too spiritual and we just look at ways to serve, it is easy to use our gifts.  Whether prophecy, preaching, visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, or simply taking someone to coffee and lending a listening ear, whatever gifts you have, God has equipped you with His strength and His voice to get the job done. If you steward that toward service, you will gain influence and your influence will grow.

This is leadership and leadership is influence. It’s not some crazy idea or position or paygrade, it’s about influencing. Influence comes from two things: Service and the Voice of God. Jeremiah was told “I’m going to give you influence over the whole kingdom, over nations and kingdoms.” How was Jeremiah going to influence them? Because God said, “I am going to put my words in your mouth.” That’s one form of influence. Jesus said if you really want to lead, then serve. That’s the other form of influence. That’s what Peters is telling us. These two elements are why we’re the army of the Lord and nobody influences people like the army.

Personally, I believe we need our own motto. The Army Rangers have “Rangers lead the way,” ours should be “Prophets lead the way.” If leadership is defined as influence, that means you’re influencing people to go in the way. People know this intuitively when you talk about the things like salvation and discipleship.  This is our culture. Our sphere grows as we serve and as we speak. Be the voice of God and the strength of God, so that you transform lives and transform situations.

There are many individuals of influence walking the streets, sitting in boardrooms, enacting legislation, teaching our children or interacting within culture in a multitude of ways. Many of these leaders are wearing masks hiding various types of prejudice. Prejudice is simply pre-judgment as assumptions are made without accurate information; opinions are formed without facts and beliefs are established without truth. All prejudice is destructive fear-based attitude that affects relationships, partnerships and sabotages the ability to lead with justice, honor, and validation.

There is great power and responsibility associated with any form of leadership influence. Whether you are a school student influencing your peers, a friend, spouse, parent, teacher, actor, sports figure, business person, or political leader, there is a vital mandate to lead impartially. Anywhere there is a platform of influence there is ability to persuade for good or harm.

We all have had negative experiences that want to shape our belief about different groups of people whether it is age, race, gender, socio-economic status, or position in society. Our tendency is to group people together and pre-judge everyone based upon the external, the judgments of others or our personal history. Many years ago I was an indignantly passionate man-hater supporting the woman’s liberation movement. To me it was not about equal rights for women—that was my mask—but rather to emerge greater than all men. This was prejudice that was seeded into the soil of a little girl’s soul through sexual molestation. In my heart I was not fighting for the noble cause of equality for woman, I was thirsty for the injury of all men believing they were all perpetrators.

“Each person is an individual—it is unfair to judge someone through your past experiences with others.” Dr. Melodye Hilton

Every type of prejudice, bias or racism is self-sabotage!  I was horribly deceived by the pain of my past which sabotaged my emotional health and my ability to find internal peace. Thank God those days are over!!!!!  

Scientifically speaking, every thought we accept grows memory within the neuro-networking of our brain. It is impossible to devalue, hate, disrespect, degrade, or demonstrate prejudice towards another without its feedback into our own memory. Whether our prejudicial actions are obvious, subtle, or just a part of our thought processes it is ultimately self-destructive. It is time to remove the mask of outward pretense and arise with genuine validation for one another! It is impossible to be critical, judgmental, unforgiving, or gossip when we walk in validation and honor of others.

“The validation of the human soul cannot co-exist with prejudice, injustice or discrimination of any kind.” Dr. Melodye Hilton

Thomas Jefferson said, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only objective of good government.” Truly, this should be the objective of every good person and especially everyone who aspires to lead well. Let us challenge ourselves to take into account the thoughts we allow to occupy our minds and boldly choose validation, honor, respect, life, hope, and peace. This decision will not only impact our own emotional health, but allow a healthy perspective in every decision we make.

It’s time to take off all masks of pretense and instead genuinely value all humanity. Let us utilize our emotional energies to influence generations to live well, love much, and believe for the best.  Let our revolutionary voices of validation be heard—that’s a cause worth living for!

Dr. Melodye Hilton

“I am challenging my people to change.” 

We’re in a new day of God challenging us to change. We hear the word challenge and might immediately think that is a negative thing. Here is the definition of challenge:

1. a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.
2. something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.
3. a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.
4. a demand to explain, justify, etc.:
5. difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

The word that stands out to me in the definition is the word engage. The challenge that God is releasing in this season is a calling to engage. It is a calling to move off the sidelines and get involved in the battle. When we are on the battlefield, we can make a difference in the outcome.

Change: verb (used with object), changed, changing.

1. to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one’s name; to change one’s opinion;
2. to transform or convert (usually followed by into):
3. to substitute another or others for; exchange for something else, usually of the same kind:
4. to give and take reciprocally; interchange:
5. to transfer from one (conveyance) to another:

Change is simply something becoming different than it was.

“The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person” (1 Samuel 10:6 NIV).

Saul transformed into another man when he came into the company of prophets.  He now was doing what he could not do before. God wants to bring us into a place of doing and being what we could not do before.

I saw the Lord standing like a ticket attendant at a sports game. We handed the Lord our ticket and expected to get a seat near the front.  The Lord then directed us to go up the bleachers, not down towards the field, like we used to. We went away from the field up the bleachers. We were lead to the VIP executive box overlooking the entire field.

We had an expectation of where we were going to sit. He challenged us to change our normal routine of where we used to sit.  He took us to a much better seat and positioning.  He is challenging things inside of us that are limiting us. Don’t be afraid of what God begins to change in your life this next season.

The new opportunities that come to you may be challenging or may force you to engage with greater focus. God is challenging us so he can reveal hidden potential that he has placed inside of us. He is developing and unlocking inside of us kingdom resources for advancement.

The enemy has tried to cover up our potential and destiny, but God is about to dig it out. Embrace the challenges that you are presented with in this season. Hidden in them are the keys to breakthrough and advancement. God is breaking you out of your limitations.

We see in Genesis 39-42 Joseph went through a challenge. Things seemed to be heading the opposite direction of what Joseph’s dream was.  God was escorting him to his destiny.  He was able to save an entire nation from a famine and be positioned in a new place of authority.

Don’t reject or resist the challenge. Trust what the Potter is doing in and through your life in this season. He is making something beautiful.

God is Challenging the following areas in 2017:

Nations:  Many nations will have the chance to restructure for righteousness.

Corporate Church: The Church will have the chance to move to new levels of authority and influence in the earth.

Cities and Regions: These will have a chance to see a new atmosphere released in their territories.

Marketplace:  There will be a challenge to have integrity. Those who choose integrity will see new levels of prosperity in business.

Wherever you see things being challenged in this season is an opportunity. God desires to raise you up to become the answers and solutions, like Joseph was to a people and nation.

The Lord says “I am a challenging my people to change. I am giving them opportunities to transition into a higher level. I am calling them into more authority, resources and demonstrations of power. I am calling them out of hiding and into shining. You were made for the challenge. You were made to bring Heavenly answers and solutions into the earth. I am challenging you to run to challenges and let my kingdom flow through you.”

“Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.” (I Corinthians 7:17)

Our work and vocations are the primary focus where we expend our time and energy.  They are also the platforms that shape the 7 Mountains of society. It’s no surprise then that these areas are where God’s purpose and plan will come to pass for our lives, our communities, and our nations.  Our work can become Kingdom Influence in the 7 Mountains!

A vocation (Latin: vocātiō “a call, summons”) is an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which she/he is suited, trained, or qualified.

Each vocation falls somewhere within the 7 Mountains, the seven areas of society that shape our culture: Business, Entertainment, Education, Government, Media, Church and Family.

A career, vocation or job is the place from which Christians can transform their world for God’s glory.  The largest need of service to the Lord is not in traditional ministry.  In fact, local Church leadership makes up only 2% of Christians. The rest are politicians, educators, entrepreneurs, scientists and more. Church leaders alone cannot fulfill God’s purpose for our generation.  Instead, they empower the other 98% of Christians to impact their sphere of influence with God’s Kingdom.

Kingdom Influencers are Christians who use their area of work and influence to establish God’s Kingdom.  “Kingdom” refers to the establishment of God’s rule in the earth. “Influencer” is one who brings transformational impact in the workplace and community. Kingdom Influencers are vital to transforming the 7 Mountains into God’s Kingdom!

As Kingdom Influencers, our desk, workbench, operating room, courthouse, or platform is anointed by God to transform our communities. Unfortunately, Christians have not always understood their call, or how their vocation fits into God’s plan for mankind and for their generation.  Churches have not always had provision for people who devote their time and effort to their profession.  But that is changing! The Church is reinforcing that God appoints Christian business people, politicians, educators, entertainers and artists, scientists and doctors, and societal leaders to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, to permeate the culture with Godly principles, causing their sphere of influence to reflect God’s Kingdom.

The idea of work, vocation and career comes from God. Genesis tells us that Adam worked and kept the garden before the fall.  One of the first things God had Adam do in the garden was to keep it and guard it.  God chose and authorized Adam to rule over the earth with authority, protecting it, brining order, and causing it to prosper. The definition of the word “work” found in Genesis translates “ministry or service.”  Adam’s work to oversee the Garden was a ministry ordained by God.  Similarly, Christians today are chosen and authorized by God to keep, oversee, protect, bring order, and cause prosperity in all the 7 Mountains!

Your work is anointed:

• Your work provides the opportunity to demonstrate Christ – I Thes. 4:11-12.
• Your work glorifies God – I Cor. 10:31.
• Your work prepares you to rule and reign with Christ in eternity – Rev. 5:10.
• Your work can be used by God to help transform a nation into a “sheep” nation.
• Your work keeps or tends to one or more of the 7 Mountains.
• Your work is how God can establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.

Biblical examples God’s people using their vocation to impact their world

• Joseph excelled in every job or situation regardless of the circumstances. As Joseph applied Godly principles to his work, he was promoted until he was the second in command of all of Egypt.  As a result, he delivered the nation of Israel out of famine and destruction.

• Daniel followed the principles of God uncompromisingly. He was recognized as the wisest of all counselors of the greatest king on the earth at that time. In Daniel 6:3 it says he distinguished himself above the other governors because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

• Jesus the Carpenter, Peter the fisherman, Luke the doctor, and Paul the tentmaker were all professionals who were skilled craftsmen and workers. The apostles were also all business people.

Succeeding in your workplace while operating under Biblical principles to effect transformation around you is a concept we refer to as a “7 Mountain Kingdom Influencer.” Today you are joining Christian International and equipping to become a successful “Kingdom Influencer” in your mountain of society!

One key benefit of the abiding presence of the Spirit of God is that He gives us above-natural, or supernatural, insight. The Spirit of God is available to anyone who asks. We know this to be true because Jesus, the Son of God, taught this in the gospel of Luke 11:1-13. The Holy Spirit with us is a powerful truth that, if understood, activated, and mobilized around us, enables us to experience levels of effectiveness and success above our natural ability. The dictionaries tell us that insight is “the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person, thing, or situation.” This kind of understanding brings robust strategies, operational effectiveness, and problem solving ideas to our life and business. We all have many great relationships and partners in our lives and in our business world.  Partnering with God in life and business is the most rewarding relationship of all. Insight by the Spirit of God is just one facet of partnering with God in business.

Insight from the Spirit of God comes to us as we contemplate each part of our businesses interests. I remember an assignment I had to benchmark an emerging super-competitor in manufacturing with the latest methods in quality and supply base management. I was sent with a team to investigate and transfer their best practices into the part of our company that I was leading at the time. I was riding on a bullet train in the middle of the night and the Spirit of the Lord came upon me saying, “Their business model is not sustainable because it exploits their suppliers and does not allow them to survive long term.” This insight saved me a lot of “watt-less energy” of pursuing the thing that looked good, was reported as good, seemed effective but was not good. Not too many years later this competitor faded in to mediocracy.  I am glad I did not copy them without sorting out by the Spirit what was good and what was not good. By the way, the product quality work they were doing was excellent and I took that. If God is in what someone is doing and He tells you to take it in, then go for it. Jesus said, “Follow me,” not “copy them.” When looking at the various aspects of our business God’s Spirit is wanting to help us decipher the deeper meaning of what is going on and guide us to success. Our success in business is directly linked to His plan to build strong and godly families, local churches, and His Kingdom in all the cultural mountains around us. He knows we will distribute our gain from our business dealing wisely and for good purposes. He will give us insight to succeed.

Insight from the Spirit of God operates in our past, our present , and our future. He gives me “hindsight,” “insight,” and “foresight.” This gives me “capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person, thing, or situation” in my past (hindsight), the present (insight) and the future (foresight). Imagine what it would be like to understand all your prior successes and failures in the light of God’s understanding and bring all that forward into application for today and tomorrow. What would it be like to have supernatural insight into the past? This allows us to unpack the lessons learned and concisely take them into today and tomorrow. It allows us to see every success or failure as a learning experience and part of our education for the future. We can then celebrate that, declare victory, and move ahead without our past having any negative effect on our future! Hindsight from the Spirit of God make sense out of everything in the past that we need to be concerned about and frees us to leave the rest behind. Hindsight frees me from my past and equips me for today and tomorrow. God wants to give you and me a different and living way to think about our past. Remember he gives the Holy Spirit to them that ask.

We also need insight for today as we move into our goals, unforeseen problems and distractions of today’s business.  As businesses people we always have a lot going on that we are generating and driving. We also have many problems and distractions. How do we get the insight we need to focus, allocate resources, attract new resources and effectively drive forward? We can either do this naturally; and some of us are pretty good at it. (Others are approaching burnout.) Or we can learn to rely more on the Spirit of God; mixing our natural God given talent with His. His Spirit in us and upon us acts like a power amplifier to increase our ability to clarify, organize, resource, adjudicate, mandate, and everything else we need to do to build the kingdom of God into our life and business. Am I making you hungry to hear the voice of God? King David said in Psalms 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Think about living in a relationship with God where we know that we are being lead by His voice on a path to having our wants satisfied. Do we want to be God’s kings in the earth? Do we want to rule and reign with Him in our life and business? Will we begin to seek to hear the voice of the One who is able to lead us effectively for His purposes in us in the earth? When I found out He was more interested in my success that I was it thrilled me to learn to hear His voice and ask Him for insight for everything.

Lastly, let’s think about “foresight”; the Holy Spirit’s insight into the future. I am still learning a lot about this one. Because God has given man a lot of authority and free will in the earth there are an infinite number of possible actions and reactions that may develop around us. However, none of them surprises God like they do us. Our businesses, particularly large businesses are very complex by their very nature. This complexity is further exacerbated by the infinite number of choices each person has who is in our sphere of influence. That is why strong teams, clear communications, effective measures and the like are needed to succeed. So how does God’s insight about the future work? How does the “foresight” of God help us? He knows what is developing and changing around us and what will affect our business. Of all the financial information and analysis coming in, He knows what is true and important and what is not. Of all the customer experience and trends information being gathered, He knows what we need to pay attention to and what not to allow into our decision making processes. Of all the opportunities before us, He knows what ones we should pursue and when to say no. Contemplating the future with God is the most enjoyable part of business leadership. In John 16:13-15, Jesus says, the Holy Spirit will come and take of mine and show it unto you. He will show you things to come. He will guide you into all Truth. One day I was praying with a young man that had been let go from a fairly high level job at a local financial institution. As we prayed the Lord said, “Ask him what he has and what he knows how to do?” He replied that he knew how to refinish decks and had some equipment to do that. I thought, “No suit and tie in that!” He and his wife started that business out of his garage and it soon grew to support his family and became known in our region as the premier refinishing company. He created jobs for many people.  Then an amazing thing happened. A major business leader who owned a large home where the deck was being done asked “How is it that this business came to you?” He told him his story and the man was so impressed he hired him into a major company and eventually he now is in charge of global business strategy and sales of a major sector of that business. He also is exploring new opportunities outside the company’s normal business which looks like it will lead to a major expansion. Oh, by the way, he looks good in the tie now. God is a reformation God. He is working today to bring you and me to new levels of influence in the Kingdom through supernatural hindsight, insight, and foresight.

So how do we connect to the Spirit of God for this kind of living and business; the God kind of life? Remember Luke 13:13; Jesus said that Father God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask. Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world. He that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The greek words in the original text for the light (Phos) and life (Zoe), literally mean the illumination of the God kind of Life: His supernatural insight!. The “God kind of Life,” life in His kingdom, is where His voice rules and reigns. Where His voice sets our direction and creates the future as it should be; on earth as it is in heaven by our declaration. The divine order of God by His word gives us insight; past, present and future. I decree over you that the Spirit of the Living God now begins to operate at a new level of insight and illumination; that limitations are now taken off of your business by hindsight, insight, and foresight; that the powers of heaven are your portion of your inheritance with the saints in light. Rejoice, the good news of the government of God has come to you!