Making a Distinction

I want to share something with you that I would like to be a point of focus for us, as a group, in our prayers. Every time I read a newspaper or turn on a news channel, I am bombarded by messages about lay-offs and business closings. It is striking close to home, too, as I know of a number of families in our church that are being affected. I don’t want to minimize this in any way… in fact, I want to speak directly from the heart, as a person who has been struggling through this crisis myself. You see, one of the byproducts of the present economic climate is that charitable giving is down markedly. Because of this fact, the non-profit organization of which Debbie was the Executive Director made the decision to close last year. This left us with a number of months in which she wasn’t paid. While we thank God that He has provided her with a new job, we will still feel the effects of her lost income for quite some time. I’m not writing this seeking pity, rather to simply say that we are “walking through the valley,” as are many of you.
Here, then is what I want to share with you: chapters 7-12 of Exodus tell of the 10 plagues that the Lord sent on Egypt so the Egyptians would release the Children of Israel from slavery and allow them to go to Canaan. The entire nation of Egypt endured the first three plagues (this seemingly included the Israelites). However, in chapter 8, verse 22 things shift. Check this out: “But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people are living; no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land. I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow." In the midst of the worst national disasters in the history of Egypt, God spared His people. He allowed them to go through part of the plagues, but then He stepped in.
Already, He has allowed us to go through part of this crisis, but I want us to pray that God would again “make a distinction” between His people and the rest of the nation. We should pray that The Crossing would be like the land of Goshen was in the days leading up to the exodus of Israel.

The Multiplication of the Anointing

I want to talk to you about multiplication of the anointing and why it is absolutely critical. God’s first command to Adam in Genesis was to “be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion.” God is showing us a progression here. It is first necessary that we be fruitful, which speaks of our character and ability to reproduce: however, fruitfulness will not give us dominion. There has to be a process of multiplication to produce dominion. Let me show you something: in Exodus, God sends two men, Moses and Aaron to bring Israel out of bondage. In Numbers 1, Israel is now in the wilderness and needs more leadership, so God instructs Moses to select 12 heads of the tribes to help lead. This seems to work okay for traveling through the wilderness, but in Numbers 11, they have reached to edge of the Promised Land. Now is the time they are going to have to occupy territory, overcome armies, and take dominion over Canaan. So what does God do? He tells Moses to select 70 elders from among the people and in verse 17, God says: “Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.” I think the message is clear: to have dominion, you have to multiply your leadership. Jesus does the same thing in the New Testament. He first selects the 12 and sends them out, then as the time for Him to leave draws near, He selects 70 and sends them out. For the last 7 or 8 years, our church has been in the business of developing leaders. Now, in 2009, Pastor has heard the Lord say, “I’ll give you the keys to the city.” We have worked as individuals to be fruitful. As a church, we have spent several years in the business of multiplication, and now I believe it is time for us to have dominion! It is time to release those giftings that lie in each of you. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine what a church that has dominion would look like. Nearly every restaurant and store you walked into would have members from your church working, dining, or shopping there. Many stories on the local news would involve someone from your church. When the mayor needed a solution to a problem, he would consult the leaders of the church. When the homeless, hungry, hopeless, or addicted needed help, they would turn to your church. Can you imagine it? We can be that church! Deborah’s song, in the book of Judges says, “blessed is Israel when the leaders lead.” However, it can’t be one leader, it can’t even be 12 leaders, the 70 have to step up. Do you see yourself in that role? You should. The passage in Numbers shows us God placing the Spirit that was on Moses on each of them. Luke 10 shows Jesus placing His anointing on the seventy and telling them to go out and do things that it seemed only He could do. The same principle will work for us. The anointing that rests on our leader rests on us. It is time for us to step up… to have DOMINION!