ted4leaders

Greetings,

As leaders we carry the responsibility of shepherds in the flock of God. A leader must understand the responsibilities of a shepherd. A shepherd’s responsibility is to lead, guard, tend, or guide as or in the manner of a shepherd of sheep in the natural. His goal is to raise healthy, fruitful, productive sheep. His primary goal is not to heal sheep, but he is trained, skilled, and sensitive to know what to do if a sheep in his flock is ill. A shepherd provides healing care for a sick sheep, but the ultimate goal is a healthy flock for the fulfillment of the purpose of the flock. If all of his sheep are sick and needy, he needs a new flock of sheep, so his or her purpose as a leader is to create and maintain a healthy, safe environment for each member of the flock. Healthy sheep create a healthy flock.

I believe that the purpose of every aspect of a local church expression is one of raising healthy sheep for the glory of God. Leading departments, facilitating activities, or producing works of ministry are never the primary goal of leadership in a congregation. Diversity of leadership is a testimony of the diversity of care needed to create a family of purpose for God. Leadership is an expression of pastoral care in some way. Anyone who takes on the responsibility of pastoral care (shepherd care) in the house of God must do so not merely to shepherd the people, but to serve the overseers in shepherding the people. All authority is under authority and all authority is a portion of life given for the sake of those they lead. Life is given in order to be given to others so that life can be given and received by everyone for the purpose of life. Leaders at various levels in a congregation represent God and they are shepherds (pastors) of the flock. All authority is under and not over. When responsibility is given to anyone over any area, their primary focus is to serve the authority that placed them in that responsibility. Received authority is received life for the sake of those they lead.

All leaders must receive the authority to fulfill their portion of shepherding the sheep. All pastoral anointing is under the overseeing shepherd’s anointing. All pastoral ministries represent the Chief Pastor (Shepherd), not the people.

There is a diversity of needs when caring for people. If sheep are in a flock are sick, they need a veterinarian, not just a pastor (a physician shepherd). This could be termed as specialized counseling or deliverance ministry. Those who care for specific needs of the sheep are not pastors, but they do serve the bigger picture of pastoring by helping to bring health to a specific area of the flock. The overall purpose is to serve the shepherd in his or her responsibility of producing a healthy flock of sheep.

A leader must lead as a shepherd. Pastors see to it that sheep are in the right place at the right time, out of the storm, and in the grassy fields of life. A pastor sometimes needs the advice of a dietitian, a veterinarian, a genetic breeding consultant, or some other specialist to assist in the task of raising healthy, fruitful, productive sheep. The task of shepherding is a team effort, but it involves a very close relationship with each sheep to know the condition of each one.

The destiny of a sheep is to provide for others. They provide a holy offering. This involves living in an intimate relationship with God in their lives. They provide food for life. The live for the wellbeing of others. They provide clothing for others to be protected from the cold. They produce generations of increased quality sheep for the future testimony of the flock.

Their primary responsibility of a sheep is not to receive fellowship, but to give their lives, and of their lives, for others. Sheep must be led into proper pastures of fellowship, however. Without a healthy sheep environment, they will be unhealthy sheep. Sheep see the social connection found in the fellowship; leaders see the purpose of the fellowship. A shepherd must love to fellowship sheep and to draw sheep to the Chief Shepherd (since he or she merely represents Him). A leader also serves to draw sheep to one another – this is called a flock.

A shepherd smells like sheep as well as a shepherd. If a shepherd doesn’t smell like sheep it means they don’t live among them. When Jesus used the analogy of sheep and a shepherd, it was in a time where shepherd’s gave their lives for the sheep and they also lived among the sheep to provide the daily care, protection, and direction needed by the flock.

1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

A shepherd does not shepherd the flock for personal gain. He or she serves in the role of the shepherd for purpose of the Chief Shepherd and His desire for all of the members of the flock. It is an honor to serve in the role of leadership and to provide the care of a shepherd. It is an honor to serve in any area of leadership that serves the purpose of the Chief Shepherd as His role as the Shepherd is fulfilled through the diverse aspects of leadership. Leaders serve to keep the members of the flock connected to the place of God’s purpose and care!

1 Peter 2:25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

As leaders in the church we serve in the role of shepherds. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, but we serve in the role as under-shepherds in our expression of Him as the shepherd to the people. We can never allow our role as leaders to replace anyone’s personal connection with God in their lives. Each and every believer must see that Jesus is the Shepherd of their soul, but each and every believer must also see that Jesus will manifest in various expressions of leadership. When we submit to authority we submit us unto the Lord, but we never submit to leadership as being the lord. We understand that when we submit to authority as unto the highest the authority we allow the highest authority (God) to manifest through those authorities we receive in life. If we depend upon God in our relationship with authority, God will open the gift of leadership given to us for our benefit. Leadership is a gift to those they have been delegated to lead, not a gift unto themselves. Submission is a matter of relationship. When we are given a measure of authority it means we have been given a measure of life for another. There is a submission of those who come under a life source to receive what the life source has been given on their behalf and there is the submissions of the life source to come over and tip in the direction of those they serve. The positions of under and over or over and under are a matter of relationship in order to receive and give and give and receive the life that ultimately comes from God.

Since leadership is a matter of relationship, all leaders must be relational. They must have an intimate relationship with God in order to lead others into the same. They must have a close relationship with people in order to lead others into relationship with people. We all have different skills and abilities, but leadership is more about relationship than it is about skills and abilities. In my many decades of ministry I have never seen that skills are the real issue of division in the church. It is always about relationships in some way. To be the community of God we must pursue communion with God and communion with one another. I believe this is the greatest qualifier for leadership and for mature membership.

A leader must be an expression of various roles that God holds in the lives of people. Those expressions of God must be made through proper relationship. God holds the place of Father to His children, so there is an aspect of revealing a father to the children or a parent to a family home. Jesus is the head of His body, so leadership will be an expression of the headship of Christ to His church. Jesus is the Vine and members of the church are the branches. Leadership must be an expression of Jesus the Vine. They must be a relationally connected to those they lead in order to provide life and inspire a vision of destiny. They must seek to abide with the members of the church and inspire members to abide with God and one another. God is the husbandman in a vineyard relationship with His people, so leaders must take the role of pruning, trimming, cultivating, protecting, nourishing, irrigating, harvesting and many other things that are involved in vine dressing. God is the Potter and the people are His clay. A leader must take the role of one who shapes, molds, creates, and assists members to become all that God intends for them to be. This involves shaping identity, character, and abilities. God is the Captain and his church is His army. Leadership must at times take the role of a commander or one who rallies the troops for battle. They must set an example of a good soldier before God so others can be inspired to keep the rank in God’s order of purpose and destiny. They must train, equip, and repair the people for the battles of the enemy. They must demonstrate endurance, faithfulness, and willingness to stand strong in the battles of life. God is the Creator and His church is His creation. A leader must take the creative role of God in the lives of people on many occasions. This is not to create what the leader wants but to help others find what God is creating them to be and what God may be creating in their lives. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and the people of the church are His sheep. A leader must take the role of an under-shepherd in shepherding the flock.

As leaders we must embrace the grace of God to become an expression of a shepherd to the flock of God. A shepherd must have a love for sheep, the environment of sheep, and the purpose of sheep. Sheep are not poodle dogs, rabbits, hamsters, cats, or some other domesticated pet. Sheep have a purpose! Sheep provide wool, cheese, meat, and more generations of sheep. The shepherd cares for the sheep so the sheep grow, are healthy, live in safety, and live in a healthy environment of sheep in order to fulfill the purpose of sheep. Sheep meet the needs of others and must grow in an environment conducive to a healthy flock. Leaders carries a responsibility of assuring these things are so for the flock.  All leaders must have the heart of a shepherd. They must be willing to commit their lives to the task and also be willing to put their own lives on the line for the sake of the flock when necessary.

Ambitions for position, power, and financial support are not motives for loving sheep. A true shepherd loves sheep and the purpose of sheep. They are willing to lay their lives down for each one and they are willing to make sacrifices for the destiny of the flock. As believers in Christ, there is a two-fold dynamic in leadership. We are both leaders and members of the flock of God. To be a good shepherd we must also be a good sheep in our own relationships to various expressions of the Chief Shepherd in our own lives. A pastor is one who raises sheep to be eaten, to be sheared, and to birth lambs for future meat, wool, and lambs. He feeds and protects the sheep for that purpose. He does not raise sheep for the sake of the sheep. He raises sheep for the Chief Shepherd’s sake. There is a market for sheep. In the kingdom of God that market is that sheep love God with all of their hearts, minds, souls and strength. They also love their neighbors as they love themselves. In other words, their lives are for God and others. They live for the wellbeing of others. They are alive for God, the nations, and the generations.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

What does it take to keep our heart flowing with life for the sake of those we lead? As leaders we must know how to do a good warfare of life. We must grow in the skill of allowing our hearts to flow freely with the life of God as we stand before God and his people in our roles of responsibility as leaders. Our hearts must remain spontaneous, broken, deep, and passionate before God. The ingredients depicted in the Old Covenant offering of incense represent the issues of the heart before God and those ingredients represent these things. I have written in regard to these things before, but I must remind us as leaders that these are the issues of our heart and these are what qualify us to stand before the people as an example of the life of God.

Exodus 30:34, 35  And the LORD said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. “You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.”

We must keep our hearts with all diligence. Our hearts must be spontaneous before God and spontaneous with the life of God to others. They must be deep with a focus towards the things of God and a forsaking and forgetting of the things of the past. They must be broken with a willingness to yield to the will of God and let go of the things that would create bitter roots and strongholds that produce dry places that harbor earthly, sensual, and even demonic influence. Our hearts must be fervent. We must be pure and passionate in our love for God and others. These are the ingredients of a heart that releases the flow of God’s life to the world. This is the testimony of the heart of a leader.

What are some keys to activating these things in our hearts? We must have an attitude of life and for life if we are going to lead people into life. There are some great secrets revealed by the prophet Isaiah concerning these keys of life.

Isaiah 12:1 And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

As leaders we must first know that God is not angry with us or with anyone. His anger is against wickedness and unrighteousness of men that suppresses the truth with a lie, but His heart is for the people, even those who are suppressed by those lies. If we believe that God is an angry God we will be angry leaders before the people. This is not a day to focus on anger; it is a day to focus on praise! We must exhibit an attitude and demonstrate before the people that we are a people who praise God in all things. We must receive the comfort of God in our own hearts so we can demonstrate a spirit of comfort to those we lead. We must stay connected to God as our friend and comforter so we can show others that He is their comforter and friend.

Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; “For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”

As leaders we must trust God and not be afraid. We must set an example that others can follow in all things. In order for our hearts to remain spontaneous, broken, deep, and fervent before God we must trust Him in all things. He is our strength and the very sound of our lives. Are we singing the song of trust or are we singing a son of fear. What is coming off of us that others can hear? What is our affect upon others? The sound, the ambiance, the atmosphere of our lives affects others more than the words we preach or the messages we teach.

Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

As leaders we should be fountains of life-giving water before others, but there is water in all people. Life resides in the hearts of all who believe. As leaders we must know how to draw God life-giving water out of the hearts of those we lead. We can only do that if we demonstrate joy. We can only draw water if we are also willing to induce that flow of water with the attitudes of our own hearts. It involves valuing those we lead, seeing the life that is in those we lead, and then activating, facilitating, and releasing the life that is in those we lead. This is a skill of leadership. We must lead with joy! Lighten up! Don’t think too much, just trust God and expect to find Him in all that you are responsible for. It is His church, not yours! Be happy and enjoy the journey. Don’t make your goals your destination; enjoy the journey with those you love!

Isaiah 12:4  And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted.

We must focus on the deeds of God and constantly mention how good and merciful He is. There is plenty to focus on if we pay attention. God is excellent! Pay attention to Him and not your enemy! Don’t be concerned with what the enemy is doing. Always point to what God is doing so the people can see it too.

Isaiah 12:5 Sing to the LORD, for He has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth.

Let the tune of your voice and the sound of your heart constantly testify of the excellent things of God. They are around us everywhere and in everything we are doing. Focus on life and you will see life. Sing the song of life and you will lead others into life. Point to what God is doing and others will see it too!

Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

God is with us! He is with you! He is not visiting us. He is living with us. We are the place of God’s governing voice in the earth, because we are the place of God’s presence in the earth. The decrees of heaven are decrees from our hearts. This is true as individuals, but even more as we stand together as the family of God in the earth. We are the church, the called out assembly of God for the governmental decisions of heaven upon the earth. We must keep our hearts with all diligence so that the issues of life flow freely to the world. As leaders we must lead by releasing the weapons of life. This is what will destroy the power of all of our enemies. If you read Isaiah chapter 13, it reveals the victory over the spirit of Babylon. That victory is not possible without the weapons of life revealed in Isaiah chapter 12.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

I have been addressing the subject of leadership in regard to keeping our hearts. Jesus said that from the heart would flow rivers of life-giving water. This is to be a testimony for all who believe in Him, but leaders must set an example that others can follow. The key to the issues of life is found in the human heart; therefore the enemy targets our hearts in order to keep them from giving life to those we influence in life. What does the enemy look like? We know he is the devil, but what form does he take in his attack upon our hearts. A Leader must know how to guard their hearts. I believe that there are four basic areas of attack upon the human heart. Those forms are ones of affliction, captivity, harassment, and defilement. Affliction can be manifested as physical pain, emotional pain, or some form of sickness in our lives. This can even include a disheartened soul. Captivity is revealed as some form of bondage. It can include the things that held us in the world before we came to Christ and it can involve anything that prevents us from moving forward in our journey of life. Harassment is some form of assault upon our lives. It is demonically inspired, but it can come in the form of people who seek to put us in a difficult place in our lives. Defilement is some form of bitterness, poison, spot, blemish, or wrinkle in our souls. The enemy seeks to establish strongholds in our lives through the assault of his weapons of affliction, captivity, harassment, or defilement. As leaders we must know how to deal with those strongholds of the enemy before they become lodged in our lives and prevent us from having free-flowing hearts that give life to those around us.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

We have weapons in Christ. It is the weapons of Christ within us that will cast down the strongholds of the enemies attack upon our hearts. The source of our thoughts cannot be the realm of our wounded souls; it must be in the place of a prosperous spirit made alive by God’s Holy Spirit within us. Our obedience is to the faith, not mere rules of Christianity. Religious thinking and religious ways are not the weapons of victory over the enemy. Faith is a fruit of hearing God in our hearts and it inspires the actions of our lives. It works through love and it is always towards the person God. It is not towards what He will do, but towards who He is and thus it inspires trust that God can do all things.

What do God’s weapons look like in our lives? God’s weapons are foolish to the natural man. Our natural man is not our carnal sinful man, it is simply the part of us that perceives and understands things naturally. We have to receive the weapons of God in our hearts in order to embrace a supernatural power of God’s life that goes beyond our natural understanding.

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.

God’s Spirit gives the things of Him to us within our hearts. They are things that our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard, and our thoughts have not thought before. Those things are only revealed to us through our spirits. When our spirits come alive with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit it floods our soul with desires, thoughts, strategies, imaginations, and emotions that will give us the victory over affliction, captivity, harassment, or defilement of any kind. What can we do to activate the weapons of God that are mighty to pull down any stronghold of the enemy? I believe that Psalms 149 gives us a great key.

Psalms 149:1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.

Leaders must set an example in releasing the weapons of life. Singing a new song is simply living in the NOW moment of God. We must know that God is always working things together for our good. Not all things are good, but God is working all things out. Every moment of every day is another opportunity for God to reveal His goodness and His love. We must stay connected to Him and to others within our sphere of relationships in life. His praise in only truly found in our connection together. In order to be joyful in our King we must focus on His presence in our lives. In the presence of God is the fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). This means that our first weapon of victory is to remain in the place of our first love with God. We must say to the One who says, “I Am” – “Here I am!”

What does it mean to praise God with the dance, song, timbrels, and the harp? God doesn’t want us to embrace some religious form of worship ritual. He wants us to embrace a way of life that includes our walk, our sound, our attitude, and our ability to be led by Him in all things. What do others see, hear, and experience when they are around us? How are they influencing them? Can they trust us and follow us even in difficult times? These are the attributes of a heart that knows that God is good and loves Him.

Psalms 149: 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, 7 To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 to execute on them the written judgment—This honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!

We must know that God really likes us. He takes pleasure in us and we don’t need to earn His love through some lifestyle of religious homage. We must be joyful in finding life in Him and finding life in every way. This is even true in our sleeping moments. This is not just when we go to bed at night, but also when things are beyond our ability to change. We must know that we can trust Him because He cares for us. As leaders we must set this example for others to follow.

What about the high praises of God? The high praises of God are not some practiced form of music before God. They are the testimonies of God at work in our lives. Everyone has the honor of allowing God to be revealed in and through their lives. As we pay attention to what God is doing we execute the written judgments of God’s love in our lives. His mercy and grace proves to deal a blow that eliminates the enemy’s accusations and attacks in our lives. This Psalm is not talking about a carnal weapon of death. This is a weapon of life that binds the attacks of the enemy in chains. It is a testimony of the two-edged sword of God’s love for us that inspires us to love others. It is the source of demonstrating a love for Him and for others in our lives. Jesus will never put upon us anything that He took off of us at the cross, thus the victory given over the enemy by the shed blood of Jesus is activated by the power of God’s manifest grace at work in our lives. The kingdom of God is within us and it is the source of victory over all of our enemies. As leaders we must know how to live from our hearts in a life-expectant and a life-giving way in all things.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

I have been addressing the subject of keeping our hearts as leaders. We deal in the lives of people and relationship is the purpose of our role as leaders in the body of Christ. Life comes out of living relationships; it doesn’t come out of works of ministries. We are the body of Christ, not a structure of church functions. Our number one role as leaders is to set an example in relationships and to promote, facilitate, and support the development of relationships in the church. In order to do this a leader must guard their hearts. How do leaders guard their hearts?

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.  6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

A leader must know how to rejoice in all things. This doesn’t mean that a leader is grateful for everything that happens in their life, but it does mean that they decide to maintain a good positive attitude in all things. When dealing with people a leader must be gentle. A leader prefers others and is willing to yield when necessary. These things apply to all believers, but a leader must know of to set an example that others can follow. They must not be anxious, but embrace the power of the Holy Spirit within them that empowers them to suffer long and be patient when necessary. Maintaining a face-to-face relationship with God is essential. Open conversations with God filled with supplication and thanksgiving are part of a leader’s way of life. This is not a form of ritual before God, but a testimony of relationship with God for the sake of God’s kingdom influence and will in the earth. These things are not just words confessed with our lips, but attitudes of our hearts. The thought life of a leader must set an example for all to follow. They must think on noble things. Noble thoughts are filled with reasoning, strategy, imagination, and even emotions that seek to live for the wellbeing of others. They must think on things that are just. Just things are not necessarily fair things. It is just in the kingdom of God to forgive the unforgivable. It is just in the kingdom to love the unlovable. The justice system of the kingdom of God is based upon the tree of life, not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a justice system of making decisions for others based upon who we are, not what they deserve. A leader must think on things that are pure. Pure thoughts are thoughts that are within the sphere of one’s own business. They are thoughts of believing the best for others and not the worst. Pure thoughts are innocent to evil and wise to good. A leader must maintain thoughts that are lovely. Lovely thoughts are thoughts that are motivated by love. Those thoughts are motivated by a love for God and a love for people, especially those we lead. A leader must think on things that are of a good report. When a bad report comes a leader must know that love covers a multitude of sins and that looking for the good report is the aim of every leader. If there is any virtue a leader must think on that. Virtuous thoughts are thoughts of helping others. A leader must think on things that are praiseworthy. Praiseworthy things are things of honor and even a willingness to be misunderstood or unpopular in some way for the sake of someone else. A leader must meditate upon these things in order to lead others to do the same. These things are part of guarding our hearts before God. All believers must embrace these things, but leaders must excel in these attributes. It is part of keeping our hearts with all diligence.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

Leaders are people who are involved in the lives of other people. Before leadership can be functional, it must be relational. It is out of relationship that we lead, not merely gifting or function. We are not part of organizational Christian business. We are in the business of being intimately involved with others in the testimony of the living body of Christ on earth. When involved in the lives of other people, there are always going to be misconnections, misunderstandings, and various turns in the dynamic of relationships. This is part of the process of being involved in the lives of people. The enemy seeks to destroy the human heart and thus dissolve the connection of human relationships. In this a leader must guard their heart, because it is from the heart that a leader must lead.

What does it mean to guard the heart and how is this done? The way of the world is to draw back from people and relationships when people hurt them. Their first interest is the safety and protection of themselves. This is not the way of the kingdom of God. We are to live for the wellbeing of others. When we are wounded in our hearts we must know how to keep our hearts alive. We must know how to keep our hearts as fountains of life for the sake of others.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.

King Solomon said the keeping the heart was to make sure that it is constantly free flowing. God loves the fragrance of the honest heart of someone who loves Him. It is with the heart that we hear Him and it is with the heart that we love Him. It is also from our hearts that we love others. In the Old Covenant it was required for the Priest to offer incense before God. The incense was offered in the morning and at night, signifying the beginning and the end of every day. The Priest of the Old Covenant would also take the prepared incense from the holy place and bring it into the holy of holies at the appropriate time of the manifest presence of God. I believe that the incense was a testimony of what must come from our hearts in order to experience the full life of God. That life is not merely for us, but it is a testimony of life to others. Just as the ingredients of the incense burned to release a fragrance before God, out hearts must release the fragrance of life in our love for God and others.

Exodus 30:34, 35  And the LORD said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. “You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.”

God considered all of the ingredients of the incense to be sweet spices. The aroma was pleasing to those who smelled it. Some of the ingredients were not so sweet by themselves, but when compounded with the other ingredients they became a sweet aroma in the offering. Our hearts must create an atmosphere in, around, and from our lives that others like to be around. This is essential for us as leaders as we set an example to those we lead in how to live in our love for God and as an offering of love for the sake of others. The sweet spices in the incense where those of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense; I believe that these ingredients represent issues of our hearts.

The ingredient of stacte is believed by many to have come from the storax tree. The storax tree was a tree that grew in the dry and arid region of Gilead. The root of the tree was as deep as its top. This tree was able to find water deep in the ground and thus if flourished in the dry region of Gilead. The root meaning of the name of the tree was “to distil”. If you cut the tree it would release a substance spontaneously that would heal the cut in the tree. This gum substance was also used for bringing healing to wounds in human flesh and was even believed to provide relief to asthma and other respiratory disorders. The aroma was pleasing and it was believed to carry healing properties. I believe that the stacte represents the spontaneity of the heart. We must keep our hearts spontaneous in the life of God. When we are wounded the life within us releases a spontaneous flow that brings healing to the wound. As leaders we must keep our hearts spontaneous and lead others in the spontaneous life of God’s forgiveness and love.

The second ingredient in the incense was that of onycha. Onycha was a shellfish that lived in the depths of the Red Sea. When these shellfish were ground and burned they released a very strong odor. I believe that it is significant that these shell mollusks came from the depths of the Red Sea. The Red Sea is a symbol of the death of the past and the path that leads to the inheritance of the future. It speaks of a baptism into the body of Christ that leads us to the promises of God and all of His inheritances. I believe that this ingredient speaks of having a deep heart for God and a heart that is for the things of God and one that forsakes all of the things of the past. When our hearts are deep for God and ground fine, not surface and unchanged, we release and inspire a fruitfulness that leads to all the inheritances of God. When our hearts are deep it becomes obvious to those around us, like the strong fragrance of the ground onycha.

The next ingredient was galbanum. Galbanum is a plant that is bitter tasting and releases an earthly smelling resin. It is a plant that is difficult to break, but when broken it releases a gum resin that when burned it was believed to repel snakes, lizards, and other desert creatures. The resin is released through the branches as well, thus the bitter substance is throughout the plant. I believe that the resin drawn from the galbanum plant speaks of a broken heart. It is the willingness to yield our own wills to the will of God that bears the fruit of righteousness and the testimony of peace. When we don’t allow our hearts to be broken we end up with bitter roots that defile others. When we allow our hearts to be broken, our hearts release a substance that repels earthly wisdom and demonic influences that are bound to the dry places of the earth (James 3:13-18). As believers in Christ we must allow our hearts to be broken before God and we must never harbor a bitter root of any kind.

The final ingredient in the incense was pure frankincense. Frankincense is harvested from the frankincense tree by cutting its bark. When the bark is cut the tree releases a resin that bleeds out from the tree and then hardens. It produced a very flammable material. I believe that the frankincense represents a pure, holy, passionate, and fervent heart. Our hearts must remain pure and passionate before God.

We must keep our hearts with all diligence. Our hearts must be spontaneous before God and spontaneous with the life of God to others. They must be deep with a focus towards the things of God and a forsaking and forgetting of the things of the past. They must be broken with a willingness to yield to the will of God and let go of the things that would create bitter roots and strongholds that produce dry places that harbor earthly, sensual, and even demonic influence. Our hearts must be fervent. We must be pure and passionate in our love for God and others. These are the ingredients of a heart that releases the flow of God’s life to the world. This is the testimony of the heart of a leader.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

I believe that the core of being a leader is revealed through a leader’s heart. We often think of our heart as being the inner part of us, but if we give our heart to something it involves our soul and our physical actions as well. When something has our heart our soul will embrace it as well as our body. The heart determines a good leader and the heart determines a bad leader, but the heart is exhibited in all that we are and do. A strong leader knows how to flood their soul with the inner strength of passion. A strong leader knows how to impassion their actions through the influence of their desires, thoughts, reasoning, imaginations, and emotions. A leader’s ‘heart’ includes their emotions, and all of their spiritual, mental, and physical life. When these things are united it releases a powerful force of life or death, depending on the motive of the heart. When we are God-seeking in our hearts and envisioned to live for the wellbeing of others these things become a powerful influence of life.

2 Samuel 6:14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

David knew that he needed the manifest presence of God in Jerusalem in order to rule as the king of Israel. He knew that God was the source of his leadership so he gave his heart to moving forward with a God-influenced direction. He was not bound to the past, but embraced a walk of faith in following God. When he brought the ark of God’s presence to the tent he had place in Jerusalem, he demonstrated a full connection of his spirit, soul, and body. He was demonstrating the spirit, attitude, and actions of a leader. He gave his whole being to following God in the direction of life. He wasn’t going to the tent of the past, but to the tent he had seen in the imagination of his own mind. The tabernacle of David was a God-inspired idea, but it was David’s idea. In his process of carrying the presence of God to the place of the future, David wore the clothing of trust and worship of God. He didn’t hold back but was confident and bold in his ability to release a prophetic sound. That sound was one that inspired victory. It was a confession of the wind of God’s Spirit in his life. His wife Michal didn’t give her heart to the future. She was bound to the past. Her heart was still devoted to her father’s house. She didn’t see herself as David’s wife, she saw herself as Saul’s daughter. Because her heart was not focused on the future her mind and her actions were bound to the past. She became barren and never bore any fruit of generational inheritance.

When we embrace a connection of our spirit, soul, and body in leadership we release a strong influence of leadership. God gives life, breath, and all things (Acts 17:25). As leaders, we must know how to activate life-giving substance and direction God’s Spirit in our hearts. We must know how to be full in our spirits and then actively allow that life to impassion our attitudes, desires, passions, thoughts, focus, strategies, deliberations, purposes, and endeavors in our role of leadership. This process causes the testimony of our character, nature, way, power, and authority to influence our God-given sphere of leadership.

The process of uniting our spirit, soul, and body involves stirring our spirit with the life of the Holy Spirit within us. The presence of Christ in us is most important to the source of direction in our role as a leader. We must then give our thoughts, reasoning, imagination, and emotions toward what is stirring in our spirits. It includes taking actions to discover the path of life. God directed me through several building locations in the twenty years as a senior pastor of a church. Whenever God gave me a word about buildings, it didn’t just involve praying about a building, it involved looking at every possible building in the city to see if it was it or not. It included writing out plans, designing possibilities on paper, and imagining the potential outcome.

Jobs don’t come by prayer alone, they come through filling out job applications or taking actions toward business ventures. You have to be looking before employers know they are looking for you. You have to make steps towards new business before the market knows there is a demand for what you have to bring. I believe that vision comes before provision. How can there be substance to provide for vision unless there is a vision first? We must know how to write the vision so that it can be read, laid hold of, and run with in life. If we don’t, haphazard laziness will consume the vision.

Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.

There must be expectancy in our attitude towards God that inspires actions in our lives that make our hearts available for all that God wants to do. This is a key element in being able to lead something that God makes us responsible to lead.

Habakkuk 2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

We must endeavor to put our desires, thoughts, reasoning, imaginations, and our emotions towards all that God reveals to us in the direction of leadership. We must then take steps to run with what we see for the sake of those who will run with us. We cannot just run; we must run with what we see. If we don’t see anything, there is nothing to run with. A runner with substance is a messenger. A runner with out a message is just a runner. God declares the end from the beginning in all that we do. Let’s be leaders who are inspired by God in our spirits, souls, and bodies and let’s lead others to be inspired by God in the same way. It is only then that we can say, “Follow me as I follow Christ!”

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

Inheritance is a substance to be received and expanded in the generations of men. Inheritance is not something that parents leave to their children so the children can spend it upon their wants and needs. Inheritance is meant to be expand in the generations and change the world that we live in. Inheritance is the substance of a family destiny and it is the buy power for the legacy of the family name. True inheritance in the kingdom of God is the substance of heaven and it comes in the forms of principles, patterns, and values that can change the world. What are the things that create the principles, patterns, and values of inheritance?

God has hidden the secret things of life and He invites those who are series about destiny to find them. It is the glory of God to hide things, but it is the glory of kings to search out the hidden things of God. It could be said that God hides things and self-seeking, poverty-minded people never discover a thing. God wants us to know that we were not destined for ourselves, but we were destined to exhibit the testimony of children of God. We are destined to be royalty in the kingdom of God.

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Deuteronomy 29:29   “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

God wants us to increase as a multigenerational culture of His kingdom that brings the blessings of heaven to this world. We were not born to merely live a life of personal comfort with a view of retirement in the end. We were born to bring something of the substance of heaven to be deposited into the lives of our children and our children’s children. The visions of our lives should transform to generational dreams that serve as fuel in the fires of the visions of our successive generations. Each successive generation must know that the values of the past serve as the fuel for the vision of the present. The generations are connected for the calling, the inheritance, and the power of God’s kingdom in the earth.

Ephesians 1:18 …the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,  19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…

The mandate of our lives is not to fulfill a personal calling, obtain a personal inheritance, or exercise power for a personal testimony. We are part of something great. We are part of something noble. In 2011, I prophesied that God was transforming a ‘Jacob’ generation to an ‘Israel’ generation. A ‘Jacob’ generation is one that seeks the blessings of God in order to be the blessing of God in the earth. An ‘Israel’ generation is one that lives, moves, and has their being as the source of heavenly blessings to the world.

Here is some of the prophecy that I spoke July 8, 2011:

The Lord says He’s seeking for a Jacob generation that He might turn the Jacob generation into the “inheriting ones”. “And even now, there’s a transition”, says God, “in My Body and those who have sought to seek and find Me are going to discover that I’m the One Who seeks to find them. And in the place of wrestling, there’s a breakthrough.” For God says, “I’m bringing forth My ‘inheriting one’. I’m bringing forth My Israel. I’m bringing forth My Prince with God. There was a time and there was a season when I sought for those who would be a Jacob generation, but hear the Word of the Lord! Hear the Word of the Lord! Hear the Word of the Lord! This is the day for Me to lay hold of you! This is not the day for you to lay hold of Me! This is the day for Me to lay hold of you – and in Me laying hold of you, it’s time for you to endure! It’s time for you to hold on, and it’s in that place of wrestling that there’s going to come an inheritance – there’s going to come an inheritance!”

There’s a shift in the Spirit. Don’t seek the thing that was before. Seek that which is beyond that which was before. Seek that which is the increase. Seek that which is the ‘more’. For this is not a time to break away. This is a time to stand fast and say, ‘Our God has come! He has laid hold of us and we will not let go of that which He has laid hold of!’”

The substance of this prophecy is found in Isaiah, Chapter 32. The Prophet Isaiah was prophesying of the day of the born again sons of God.

Isaiah 32:1-8 “Behold a King will reign righteously, and princes will rule justly. Each will be like a refuge from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the hasty will discern truth, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. No longer will the fool be called noble, or the rogue be spoken of as generous. For a fool speaks nonsense, and his heart inclines toward wickedness: to practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord. To keep the hungry person unsatisfied and to withhold drink from the thirsty. As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; he devises wicked schemes to destroy the afflicted with slander, even though the needy one speaks what is right. But the noble man devises noble plans; and by noble plans he stands.” (NAS)

God wants us to embrace a multigenerational vision. That vision will be filled with noble plans, noble schemes, and noble strategies. We are to live as princes who rule as a refuge from the wind because our vision is not just for the moment, but for the destiny of God’s name in the earth. We are a shelter from the storm, for we are those who have stood fast through every storm. We will be water in a dry country, because these are those who have found water in a dry place! We will be shade from a parched land, for these are those who have not wilted in the day and in the heat.

God wants to lay hold of us as the ‘Israel’ generation of His name. These are the inheriting ones. It is key to know that a mantle of strategy and noble plans is coming on His inheriting Church. We must be the ones who will rule in His character, nature, way, power, and authority. We must be a family that rules in His name.  We cannot live constantly seeking to find the blessing of God; we must know that in Christ they are the blessing of God. We need a revelation of being princes who will be a refuge from the wind, for know how to withstood the wind. We are a shelter from the storm, for we have stood fast through every storm. This is not just in our lifetime, but in the history of our multigenerational family. We are water in a dry country, because our family knows how to find water, even in the driest of times. We are shade to a parched land, for our family has not wilted in the day and in the heat.

The plans and strategies of this ‘Israel’ generation will teach the children of the nations to stand in the midst of the winds of adversity and to become a strength by which generations can stand. They will disciple nations to endure the storms and to become shelters for their own children from every storm. They will show peoples how to find the water of life in the dry places and how to release water for the planting of the trees of generations. They will mentor families to find God as the One who empowers them in the heat of every day and those families will empower others also in God in the midst of the heat of every day. The rivers of the past have been the rivers of a Jacob generation. They have been rivers of blessings. But God is releasing now the rivers of planting. These are the rivers that make us become a blessing. These are the deep waters of inheritance that raise up every man and woman in the inheritance of Christ’s name. This is who we are!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

I have been writing in regard to a father led culture. We live in a world were the identity of fathers has been marred and eroded to become something less than what God has in mind. God is our Father, and as Father He is the one who gives identity and inheritance to sons. When we receive a proper view God as our Father we view the world though a concept of what is, what was, and what will be. We no longer live for our generation alone, but for the joining of generations in our lives. Our vision becomes one that looks to what is, what was, and what is to come. This is not only a New Covenant reality; it is a testimony of generationally minded people. In Christ we are all joined to a family destiny that is both ancient and new. It is true for all peoples, nations, tribes, and tongues of men.

Ephesians 2:19   Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,  20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,  22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

In order to live to the fullest potential of the kingdom of God we must stay connected to the authority of God’s kingdom. Our destiny has been established upon the foundation of all that was in the Old Covenant (the Old Testament prophets), and all the foundation of what was established in the firstfruits of the New Covenant (the New Testament apostles).

A father-led culture is one that knows that the authority, inheritance, and destiny of the fathers of the past are to be expanded upon through the fathers of our own generation. It is God’s intention that we stay connected to increasing authority, connected to increasing inheritance, and connected to unfolding destiny. We must know who sent us for such a time as this. What letter endorses who we are? What commission has been given to us? We are part of a culture that is both new and ancient in its purpose and plane.

Matthew 13:52   Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

As I have previously written, a scribe in the kingdom is someone who accepts responsibility for life in a generational way and allows God to write upon his or her own heart and mind in a multigenerational way. Embracing this understanding and focus in life will further the purposes of God in the earth. The purposes of God were given for God as a Father to an earthly father – Abraham, meaning father of many nations.

Genesis 22:17 …blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.  18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

The good news preached to Abraham was that in blessing God would bless him, in multiplying God would multiply him, his descendants would possess the gates of their enemies, and through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. It was a Father’s blessing to a father’s destiny. It was multigenerational in its intent. God was to be the Father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel.

This commission was also seen in the foundation set by the apostles in the first century church. The apostles were fathers in the faith, not mere mentors of Christian principles and activity.

Timothy 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. The objective was to advance the testimony of the kingdom of God to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. God’s culture is an advancing culture of life to the nations. His heart in the now is always a furtherance of what was and a testimony of what will be. God’s house is built with wisdom and wisdom always implies a way to the future.

How do we attach to the things of the past with the revelation of the present? We cannot be bound to the past; we must be thrust forward because of it. It is wisdom that will keep us in the path of destiny, but where do we find wisdom?

I wrote in regard to these things in a past blog.

Proverbs 1:20, 21 Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares. 21 She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city she speaks her words…

The New American Standard Bible uses the word street for outside. In these verses we see that wisdom is found in the street, in the open squares, in the chief concourses, and in the gates of the city. To understand these four things we must compare them to four small creatures described by Solomon in Proverbs chapter 30.

Proverbs 30:24-28 There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer; The rock badgers are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags; The locusts have no king, yet they all advance in ranks; The spider (or lizard) skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in kings’ palaces.

Wisdom is in the street; it is like an ant. The ant knows what season it is; it knows where it is in life by where it is in the journey of life. Is it winter? Is it summer? It doesn’t need to be told by a commander, it knows where it is in the journey of life. What time is it? What is necessary today? There will be more to do tomorrow, but what is the present season of life? The things that are necessary today are connected to the things that have led to this moment from the past. The things that are necessary today are also connected to the things that will be for the sake of others tomorrow.

Wisdom raises here voice in the open squares; it is like a rock badger in its quest to live. Though the rock badger is small and not considerably strong, it uses its natural environment to get its foods. It builds its home in the crags of the rocks and uses its house as a place of protection and a way of surprising its prey to sustain itself in life. What in the open squares of my life leads to the destiny of God’s glory? What is obviously around me and can serve me in my role in the destiny of life? Some of the obvious things are the things that have been established in our surroundings by the work of others.

Wisdom cries out in the chief concourses; it is like the locust. The locust realizes that if it lives in close relationship with other locusts it can do impossible things. What relationships are in my life? How do those relationships serve the purpose of who I am. Who am I joined to? My direction forward is connected to the relationships given to me in life. My relationships in life are part of my inheritance in life. Those relationships are meant to lead to others even as Paul told Timothy to find faithful men who would be able to teach others also.” – (from July 22, 2015 blog)

What are the things that we inherit? What is it that we must advance in the generations of men? The instructions of our fathers and the principals, patterns, and values are the substance of inheritance to the future. Cultures and societies of the world reject the instructions of their fathers and the substance given them by their mothers. They think themselves to be wiser than the past. Wisdom is not found in the past, it is found in the things that are being given to us by God in heaven. Wisdom is not found in the past, but the instructions, principles, patterns, and values of the past set a foundation for our hearing wisdom today.

Proverbs 1: 8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; 9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck.

Proverbs 6: 20 My son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother. 21 Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.

A key to moving forward as a multigenerational society is to value the teachings of our fathers in our hearts. What is in our hearts will be seen though the influence and vision of our lives. God said that the Holy Spirit would cause young men to have vision and old men to dream dreams (Acts 2:7). This is the opposite of the cultures of the world. In the world young people dream and old people have vision. God wants the young to have vision and the the old to dream dreams. It is only when the values of the past become the fuel for vision of the present that the dreams of the past can become the vision of today. There must be a joining of the generations. When this happens old must embrace the vision of the young and the young must embrace the dream of the old. It is the testimony of a father led culture that leads to increasing life.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

Last week I wrote in regard to being a generationally minded people. Today I want to expound on eight things that I concluded with last week.

The first is that we must: 1) Be Life, Thus Live Life in a Contagious Way –

We cannot be life to others if we only live life to satisfy ourselves. We should be happy in what we are doing in life, but we should not do what we do in order to be happy. Happiness is a choice that we make in our hearts. It is a decision we make in whatever place we find ourselves. We must choose to be happy in the world we live in. This includes our circumstances, even if we are presently in circumstances that are less than what we really desire. In whatever place we find ourselves in life, we are there for the sake of others in our world. We are there to bring life to our environment and to others within our sphere of influence. The true testimony of being life for others cannot have within it a taking attitude or a self-gratifying agenda. Being life is all about being life to others around us. To do this we must be full of the life that can only come by the life-giving Holy Spirit of God within us. We must realize that we were born for the world. More specifically, we were born for our world. We are light in our world and salt in our world for the sake of our world. The life that we live should inspire others to live life to the fullest. We must choose to be happy for the sake of those around us. When we do this we will find that happiness as a great blessing to ourselves as well.

A second thing that we must do to be a generationally minded person is:

2) Take Responsibility for Life –

To take responsibility for life we must accept our world as our world. We cannot make excuses for our shortcomings. Our world is our world and we cannot point the finger at others in a way that claims our challenges are the fault of others. Life isn’t fair – it is simply life. Our life is our life! Each of us is given a cup to drink and we must each drink the cup that is given to us. We cannot just take responsibility for our own world, we must take responsibility in a way that recognizes what we do will affect others. We must exercise our thoughts, plans, strategies, and imaginations in order to create a better world for others in our sphere of influence.

We must also realize that our world is not ours alone.  Each of us is in our world with others. In order to be generationally minds we must: 3) Join With Others –

Joining with others means that we recognize that relationship is more important than accomplishments. Friendship with others should be a priority in our lives. Covenant connections must be desired and sought. Who has God joined us to in life? We were not born to be alone. We were born to be a part of God’s family. God is the one who directs relationships and it is through relationship that all life sustains the authority of life.

To be generationally minded we must also: 4) Work With Others –

Working with others means accepting the strengths of others as contributions to our weaknesses. We must seek to give our own strengths to others as a contribution to their weaknesses. We must recognize that our world is made of other members in addition to ourselves and we must seek to work with them in a multi-generational way. Our world is a world made of the dream and vision of God revealed through the individual dreams and visions of others. We are called to fulfill the will of the Father in this world, not merely some personal agenda for success. In order to fulfill our complete significance we must make it our aim in life to work with others.

To be generationally minded we must live to: 5) Influence Others –

We don’t influence others to get anything from them. We give all that we are for the sake of others and this is the purpose of our influence. It is a matter of discovering our authority in life. All life comes from authority. Authority is the measure of life we have been given for the sake of others. When we have authority we have too much of something and we are mandated to seek out others who will receive what we have to give. We don’t give our authority to get our identity. We don’t give our authority to be valuable. We give our authority so that others can rise to the fullest destiny in their lives.

To be generationally minded we must: 6) Identify With Others –

We must recognize that we are part of something great. Like members of a body, our focus is to be a body. Our focus is not upon our membership, but upon the health of the body. We do our part so that no one is hindered in his or her part. We do our share so that the full purpose of life is accomplished by the whole. Our destiny in life is not an individual task. It involves being part of a corporate expression of the body of Christ.

To be generationally minded we must: 7) Serve Others –

Serving others can only truly be done when we see ourselves as expressions of our heavenly Father. God gives life, breath, and all things to all men. We must serve the next generation with life, breath, and all that we can bring in order to set a ceiling that can be the floor of an advancing destiny.

In doing these things we will:

8) Live For Others – Even For the Generations Beyond Our Day –

This has to be the focus of our lives. We must live with an eternal view, not just in heaven but also even upon the earth. We have our time, but our time is simply another piece in the fullness of eternity. What will we bring

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson