ted4leaders

Greetings,

In this past month I have been writing in regard to the corporate connection of a leadership team. I have used the example of the fall of Lucifer as a caution to the flaw of self within a leadership team. Today I want to summarize the issues that make for a united and purpose filled leadership team.

Every leadership team must know that the purpose of the team is dependent upon the connection of each of the team members to their God-ordained commission as a team. Each member of the team is essential to the destiny of the whole. It takes humility on the part of each member to embrace the corporate purpose of the team above any individual agendas of any team member. Each member of the team must give his or her heart to the corporate purpose of the team in bringing glory to God. There is no room for the pride of self within the life of any team member.

In order to fulfill the purpose of the team each member must be a giver of life to the other members of the team and to the function and responsibilities of the team. Team members don’t live for themselves or for their own personal agendas. They live for the team and for the will of God for the team. The product of the team must be to give life to others within and through their role as a team.

A leadership team flourishes and thrives through the testimony of its unity. Unity is a result of diversity working together as one. It is through the diversity of each team member that a team can take on the full dynamic of being a team for the full purpose of its destiny. Team members are dependent upon God and interdependent upon one another. There is no room for an independent spirit in any team member.

Every team has various levels of responsibility within the members of the team. Not all team members carry the same level of responsibility individually, but they carry the same corporate responsibility as a team. Responsibility equals authority, but authority doesn’t equal value. Every team member has an equal value, but not every team member has equal authority. Each team member must carry the load of his or her own authority for the purpose of the team. All team members working together will produce the full authority of the team. Although there are various levels of authority in a team there are not various levels of hierarchy. No team member is allowed to seek to ascend above the other team members as a means of establishing a hierarchy within the team. A point leader of the team is not above the other team members in value. He or she is simply carries the responsibility of leading the team as each member brings their individual contributions to the team for the full corporate purpose of the team. Each individual member contributes their service of ministry to and through the team, but no team member seeks their own ministry. Although the team is made of several individuals, each individual sees himself or herself as someone who makes a valuable contribution to the team and the corporate purpose of the team. They don’t get their value from their contribution. They see themselves as valuable by God’s grace so they willingly contribute their value to the team. Each member recognizes that their individual strength is also their weakness. As long as they recognize the weakness of their strength they can contribute the strength of who they are to one another. Each member’s strength is a potential stronghold of individual pride. Each member must submit their strength to the team and they must receive the strength of each of the others in order to receive the fullness of a team expression.

Team members get their identity from God and from their relational connection with the team. They don’t get their identity from their ministry. The glue of the team is relationship and thus the team and its members are dependent upon their connection with one another. There can be no individual domination of other team members by an individual team member. A team member can never isolate from the other members of the team. A covenant team knows that the life of the team and its members are dependent upon their connection with one another through relationship and not the mere function of their abilities.

A God-chosen team is destined to reveal God in who they are and in everything they do. They exist to reveal God’s will and God’s presence as a team. The team is gifted to reveal who God is and each team member is gifted to reveal a portion of that testimony. Together they reveal the full testimony of who God is in the purpose of the team. It is through the working together of the members of the team that the will of God is sensed and determined. Together they will discover the wisdom of God for each day. They will prove to be a place of God’s habitation. They will discover the favor of God that brings life to others as they work together as a team. The heartbeat of God will be understood, as the team grows in maturity together in living and working as a team. Together they will magnify God. They will know His passion, His presence, and His purpose. They will come to know more as a team then they could ever know as mere individuals. This will be a testimony and an inspiration to those they lead. Every member of the team is perfect as they are and if they embrace who they are for the purpose of one another there will an atmosphere of life in the team and there will be no need for jealousy, envy, or covetousness among any of the team members.

Covenant team members lead others in corporate purposes. Individuals draw others unto themselves, but team members inspire a testimony of community among those they lead. There is a great glory in living for the corporate plan of God. God loves the influence of Zion more than He loves the dwellings of Jacob. Zion is the corporate place of God’s presence and purpose. Jacob’s dwelling is a place of individual seeking.

Psalms 87:2,3 The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah

Let’s all embrace the corporate purpose and testimony of being members of God-ordained leadership teams for His glory.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

  Leader11  Monthly Audio Teaching

  Leader11 PDF Outline

Greetings,

In these past blogs I have been looking at the failure of Lucifer and how he now schemes as a fallen creation to destroy the uniqueness of who we are in our creation in God. He hates the authority of life and God designed submission is something he seeks to destroy. The failure of Lucifer was made manifest when he became self-seeking in his heart and began to boast and lie against the truth. He became focused on natural understanding and sensual in his practices. It was than that his life-giving attributes transformed to death-producing activity. He was no longer pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, or good fruits. He became partial in his decision-making abilities and demonstrated acts of hypocrisy. He was no longer a peacemaker, but became a propagator of division to the purposes of God. God cast him to the ground, evidence that he had become bound to natural understanding and could no longer live in the destiny of his original creation. Lucifer become unwise, though he was anointed to be wise. He didn’t understand what the will of God was.

Ephesians 5:17-21:Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Lucifer became self-gratifying rather than life giving to others (Eph 5:18). He was a taker and not a giver. His psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs became tunes for his own purpose, not for the life of others (Eph. 5:19). He did not see thankfulness to God as the essence of his purpose (Eph. 5:20). The fruit of it all was the inability to submit to others and the absence of the fear of God (Eph. 5:21). He defiled the sanctuaries of his responsibility before God (Ezek. 28:18). He ended up consumed by his own self-seeking fire and thus became ashes upon the earth (Ezek. 28:18). He became a disgrace to God’s purposes in his life and could no longer bring honor to God’s name. The only thing that he can produce now is self-seeking and death to any environment he finds himself in. He is absent the glory of God (Isa. 14:15). Now, he is Satan – a false accuser. He is the Devil – a destroyer of the souls of men through the perversion of their soul’s identity. He only brings death and destruction and is thus doomed to that same judgment (Isa. 14:19,20).

What lessons can those involved in team ministry learn from Lucifer’s fall? God reveals His wisdom to the Church by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10). Any ministry team called by God must release a sound and expression that enables others to sense what God is desiring to bring to pass in their midst by the power of His Spirit. Leadership team members are not those who know all things. They simply release an expression that helps all come to understand what God is bringing to pass. Leadership teams are not mere teachers of God’s way. They are activators, facilitators, and releasors of the expressions of God in a corporate community. Any expression of God must be one of God’s light to a new day. It will be filled with life, hope, and a testimony of His overcoming grace.

Individual members of a community of God must never get their identity from their position or their function within the community. They must get their identity from God their Father and then express who they are in Him through submission one to another. Leaders must set the example for others in this and create an atmosphere and a culture where submission can flow. Only a corporate expression together will reveal who God really is. Neither leaders nor congregation members can ever grasp for the place of another.

Leaders must set an example that others can follow. They cannot do this by rules of law or command. They must do this by becoming the substance of God’s true life in a way that activates, facilitates, and releases others to become the same, Jealousy and bitter envy must never be found in a leadership team. They are to seek God intensely and never be seekers of themselves. Carnality, sensuality, and self-seeking agendas have no place in a leadership team. Team members must never be wise in their own understanding, but must exhibit meekness to God and to one-another.

Every expression of the community of God is anointed to reveal God’s beauty. Every expression should reveal some attribute of who God is. Who someone is must never be used to perform or express who they are as individual members. Each must know that they live for the well being of another. Whether it is a leadership team or an expression of the community, the rhythm and sound that comes from them together as a team is meant to magnify God and announce His holiness from the place of His manifested presence. The essence of that which is released through their ministry is thankfulness to God in every way.

Leadership team members must live to be pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and good fruits before God and men. They must never be partial in their decision-making abilities, or hypocrites in their actions before God and men. They will no doubt fail at times in this process, but their hearts must be in pursuit of these qualities. They must be givers of life to others. Their lives must be filled with the sound of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that bring life to others and magnify God’s purpose in the earth. These are the testimony of their attitudes, their expressions, their focus, and their agendas in life. The sound and expression of their lives must exhibit a submission to others and an awe of who God is. In this they will bring honor to the name of God in the earth and life to every environment they find themselves in.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

Last week I began to address Satan’s plan to destroy leadership teams from within. He will tempt leadership members to think with individual plans rather than corporate ones. He tempts team members to live for their own personal causes rather than the corporate cause of Christ. He seeks to cause leadership members to separate from one another rather than live for the corporate cause, plan, and purpose of Christ. Today we will look further into the failure of the morning star known in the Latin as Lucifer.

I believe that everything in life is a matter of authority. Authority is revealed through one’s ability to give life to another. Authority is not marked with manipulation and control. It is the ability to be in submission one to another in order to produce something greater than self. The human race was created to reveal the likeness and the image of God in this world. This cannot be done by any individual alone, but by many individuals submitting one to another to reveal a fuller picture of who God is. Every collective order is dependent upon the submission of its members to reveal the full purpose of the whole. I believe that Satan was originally created as a covering cherub that magnified the expressive nature of God. The Latin language refers to him as Lucifer in his original creation, a name that is indicative of someone who refracts or reflects light. Like all created things, he was created to be joined to other created things in order to fulfill a fuller purpose as God’s creation. God never created anything to be independent of other created things. He created all things to reveal a testimony of His glory through their connection one to another. I believe that even Lucifer was created for God’s glory. Perhaps that glory was meant to be revealed through his failure as much as through his original created being, this is just a thought and not intended to be taken as solid truth.

I believe that Lucifer revealed his character flaw when he lifted his heart and looked through the eyes of his own understanding (Ezek. 28:17). He didn’t look through the eyes of submission, which would have been the eyes of authority. He looked through the eyes of his own understanding, which revealed an independence from others and a grasping for a power of self. It was then that he found his identity in the ministry he was performing. He valued what he was able to do more than his service to God in revealing Him to others. Lucifer committed the sin of self-seeking wisdom as found in the book of James.

James 3:13-18 – Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self- seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

True wisdom from God is meek and it seeks the welfare of others. It does not contain bitter envy of others nor does it seek personal agendas. Those exercising the wisdom of God don’t boast concerning themselves, but they seek to live in a way that honors the uniqueness of others. Those who exercise godly wisdom acknowledge their own dependance upon others in order to be who they truly are. Godly wisdom is all about relationship with others. It is all about being dependent upon others in order to fulfill the destiny of their own identity. True wisdom is exercised in purity, peace, gentleness, a willingness to yield, mercy, and all manner of good fruits.  Those who live with godly wisdom recognize the value of others as being as valuable as themselves. They seek to live in a way that reveals their connectedness to others and they live to make others shine. There is a testimony of true peace in their relationship with God and others in life.

God ordained and anointed leadership teams must manifest the wisdom of God in who they are and what they do. They are a team for the glory of God, for one another, and for those they lead. The life of authority must reside in their existence and not a grasping for power.

Lucifer became wise in his own understanding. He began to reject the meekness of heavenly wisdom and began to draw other angels in heaven to his own cause (Ezek. 28:16). His wisdom became corrupted for the sake of his own splendor (Ezek. 28:17). He wanted his way more the way that glorified God in heaven. His heart became filled with bitter envy of that which he could hear, see, and think – in regard to things not given to his charge, but the charge of others (Isa. 14:12-14).

There is no room for self-seeking wisdom in a leadership team. The way of God and the way of the team must be more important than the way of self to any member of the team. When we are part of a team we experience the testimony of others in connection with the testimony of ourselves. We must see the testimony of others as just as important as the role we play in the team. The full testimony of who a team member is is seen in their ability to contribute to the whole team functioning together. The fruit of the team will reveal the testimony of its members. Every team member will hear, see, and think things that are conducive to their role in the team. Every member will also hear, see, and come to know the expressions of others on the team. No member can understand the role of another member without submitting who they are to the glory of another. Each member will hear, see, and think in a way unique to their function in the team. It is through submission one to another that the authority of life will be revealed in God’s ordained way.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

A created being known as the star of the morning (the Latin word Lucifer), was created to bring light for every new day. His attributes and characteristics were depicted as the root of the testimony of the King of Babylon and the King of Tyre through the prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:12-19). This created being was a covering cherub that revealed the expressions magnifying the light, sound, and the rhythm of God. It was a daily process (morning star) and it was connected to his ability to refract or reflect the light of God in various expressions of the frequency of light. He was an excellent creation of God and he had a great purpose before Him. He failed in his purpose through pride. Instead of being humble, he was humbled by God for his failure to be who God created him to be. He became a taker rather than live a fulfilled life as a giver of glory to God within the measure of his being before God. He didn’t give his heart to the corporate purpose of God. He exhibited an independent spirit, rather than a dependent spirit upon God and those he was joined to in his creation.

His plan for failure was walked out in a three-fold measure. His plan was to ascend, exalt his own throne, and to sit above others. His confession was one of having his own power, his own throne, and his own authority. His testimony was a testimony of “self”.

We are all called to lead in a way that inspires others to confess that God is their God, but the flaw of Lucifer was to be his own ministry and to get others to confess the glory of his name. We are called to lead others in a way that causes them to find their identity in God and thus they become an obvious testimony of God. A flaw in Lucifer was to be his own person and thus he found his identity in what he did. We are called to lead in a way that causes men to tabernacle with God and for God to tabernacle with them. Our leadership should inspire relational connection of men to God and to one another. A third flaw in Lucifer was his desire to sit above others. He sought an importance through a domination of others and isolation from others. Lucifer’s desire of “self” ultimately revealed him as that which is as far from God as you can get.

We can never find our identity from the ministry we carry or the gifts that we contain. We get our identity from God as our Father and our being defines our true identity. It is not our doing that defines who we are. As leaders in the body of Christ we must set an example that others can clearly see in regard to the true identity as human beings. We must live with secure identities as sons and daughters of God. We must be secure in who we are as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. We must be secure in who we are as dads and moms, as grandfathers and grandmothers. Our security doesn’t come from our abilities, gifts, or talents. Our security comes from being people who reveal the character, nature, way, power, and authority of God as our Father. We need God and we need one another in order to fully be who we are.

In a team of ministry there is no such thing as “my ministry”. There is the corporate ministry of the team, but each member of the team fulfills a specific part of that call of ministry. The purpose is the team and not the individual agendas of the individual team members. In any corporate expression of the church there is no such thing as ‘individual ministries’. There is the corporate expression of the whole and then there are unique ministries within that corporate body that make up the entire equation of ministry. When we make any ministry a confession of ourselves we make people dependant upon us. This was the flaw found in the identity of Lucifer, the fallen angel known to us as Satan or the Devil. If we plan to fail we will do so by exalting our own thrones. Lucifer sought ministry for identification rather than finding his identity in God and then ministering to lead others to God.

Satan targets to destroy leadership teams from within. He will tempt leadership members to think with individual plans rather than corporate plans. He tempts team members to live for their own personal causes rather than the corporate cause of Christ. He seeks to cause leadership members to separate from one another rather than live for the corporate cause, plan, and purpose of Christ. God wants congregations in His family to live for the corporate causes, plans, and purposes of the Father’s name. As leaders we must lead in a way that sets an example for us to become expressions of the Father’s name.

Our enemy is a deceiver, a devourer, and a causer of conflict. As a deceiver he draws others to his own personal causes, as a devourer he detested the corporate plan of another, and as one who causes conflict with others he separated from the place of corporate purpose. No one wakes up in the morning and decides to be a deceiver, a devourer, or a causer of conflict among men; but the weapons of Satan often become the weapons of destruction within our own measures of rule.

As I present this month’s topic of leadership inspiration, let’s consider who God created each of us to be and how who we are brings glory to God and to others. If you are part of a leadership team consider the make up of that team and what it is that defines that team in bringing glory to God in the earth. As this month progresses we will examine the failure of Lucifer and how he schemes to tempt us to trade our true identities in Christ for a lie of disconnection and the limitation of self.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

God wants to build strong leadership teams. Strong leadership teams are covenant teams. They are not teams that are joined by mere contracts for mutual benefits, but teams that are joined together in covenant for God’s kingdom purpose. I have spent time this past month presenting the ingredients of a strong team and I have also identified the things that destroy relationships within those teams. Today I want to recap the key elements for building a team.

The first thing that is needed is a commitment to God’s purpose in the team. This also means a commitment to one another in the team. The needs of each team member must be fulfilled by God and not by their role in the team. Offenses will come at times, but no team member can afford to ever take an offence. There will be miscommunications, misunderstandings, wrong interpretations of communications, and other things that will no doubt create a natural reason to take an offence. No team can afford to take an offence with any other team member. Each and every team member must be motivated for commitment to the team and that commitment must be stronger than any offensive weapon of destruction in the relationships of the team. Team members must each see that their future is with the team. There are various levels of this in various types of relationships, but these things are essential in a covenant team. The strength of a team is not in who is right or who is wrong; it is a relational commitment to one another in the team.

There has to be a continually fresh anointing of faith within the team and its members. Members must be empowered to do works of faith. This is a demonstration of their hearts towards one another and towards the purpose of the team. There can never be any fear-based decisions; therefore love must be the motivator of each member’s actions. Those acts of love will spawn works of faith. That love is first for God and then for one another. Natural perceptions, whether they are true or false, can never spawn judgments within the team. A covenant team must be spiritually minded and directed by the voice of God and not the voice of natural perceptions. Each member must be willing to give up his or her own desires and agendas for the purpose of the team. There can be no fear of death within a covenant team, therefore decisions of the team must be faith-based decisions led by the voice of God. Team members must seek to always keep their hearts alive towards one another. Each team member must demonstrate that their hearts are with and for one another and this comes by a continual empowerment of faith.

Covenant teams must see themselves as a team. They are not mere individuals who comprise a team; they are one team. There is a constant activation of response to the testimony of the team. The team knows that their footsteps are one. They are many members, but they are also one team. There is an activation of one another for the purpose of the team. Although no team can ever destroy the unique identity of each member of the team, no individual member of a team can destroy the corporate identity of the team either. They must never live for themselves, but for the corporate purpose of the team. There is no room for individual agendas that defile the corporate identity of a team.

Team members must be enlightened to the testimony of submission to one another. Each member must know that his or her connection to one another in the team is what gives the team its full authority of life. There can never be a drawing back or a death-giving confession by a team member. There must be a shield of togetherness and a spirit of submission within the team. Each member of the team knows that they need the other team members in order to be fully alive in the team.

It is important that each team member know who he or she is in the team. The purpose of the team is dependant upon the purpose of each individual member of the team. That purpose is not self-motivated, but Christ motivated according to the resurrection life of Christ within each member. This allows each team member to make a contribution to the team that is in accordance with his or her testimony of Christ in him or her. A free flowing testimony of life contribution is needed from each team member.  There is no room for apathy in the life of any team member.

As a covenant team grows so does the testimony of that team. The true testimony of a covenant team is their love for one another. They are not easily distracted by personal needs. Covenant team members are drawn to love one another and freely give their lives to one another. The confession of each team member’s life is a confession that portrays love for each member of the team. Carnal logic and reasoning can never bind a team member’s love for others in the team.

There must be a sense of destiny in a covenant team. Team members must be impassioned to dedicate themselves to God’s kingdom purpose for the team. There must even be an awe of one another in the team.  Honor for one another is essential as each member of the team realizes that the purpose of the team is for things that even beyond the life of the team. Something of kingdom greatness is destined to release a spiritual inheritance to those who follow. There can never be a loss of destiny in the team.

These are the attributes of a covenant leadership team. I believe that God wants these elements in the life of the church and its families, but without these elements in the lives of leaders we cannot expect to see the testimony of this kind of life in the church. May God empower us by His grace to see these things increase in the body of Christ!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

 Leader10

  Leader10

Greetings,

Today I am going to continue to address the issues of relationship for leadership. It is important that leadership leads as a team of relationally connected leaders. The glue of the team will be true relationships within the team, not mere common tasks of ministry.

Last week I began to layout the steps that lead to the destruction of relationships within a leadership team. I addressed offences, judgments, defilements, and separation by differences. Offenses lead to judgments, judgments lead to defilement, and defilement leads to separation by differences. When destructive forces infiltrate a relationship to this level the individual members of a relationship no longer live for the corporate testimony of the relationship, but begin to measure things in their circumstance with self-focused agendas and thoughts rooted in a defensive survival mentality.

In review, the foundation of a life‐giving relationship is based upon a motivation of commitment. Each member sees that their future is connected to the other members of the team. The members of the relationship are then empowered to do works of faith toward one another and the team. Because they realize their future is with one another, they do actions from their heart for one another and the team. They then become activated to respond to the testimony of the relationship. In a marriage, they see themselves as one flesh. In a covenant team they see themselves as one team. Because of these elements each team member then becomes enlightened to the testimony of submission one to another. There is a strong shield of togetherness in the team whereby each member sees himself or herself easily together and seldom apart. The team members are awakened to contribute to the destiny of the relationship because they have a living revelation of the purpose of the team. They are alert to purpose. They live to contribute to the fellowship of the team. Their thought process is to advance the purpose of the team, whether that is a marriage, a leadership team, or a covenant family.

The enemy seeks to destroy relationships, because relationships are the key to the inheritance of God in the earth. Offences seek to destroy commitments. Judgments will resist faith actions in a relationship and fortify self-preserving defensive acts that begin to establish walls of disconnection. Defilements will propagate self-testimonies that close the heart to corporate realities. Disconnections by differences will set foundations for self-seeking divisiveness. A force like the prophetic power becomes a destructive power of negative attitudes, thoughts, words, and actions. There is no submission, but only subversion due to differences.

Now we come to the fifth stage in the destruction of a relationship. This is a stage of apathy. At this stage things become more important than the relationship. Whatever touches us in a natural way becomes more evident to us than any spiritual awareness of the importance of the destiny of the team.

Revelation 6:14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up…

The sky is a testimony of that which is “heavenly”. A strongly connected life-giving relationship is made of members who are awake to one another and to the unseen realities of heaven’s grace in their natural circumstances. When offences lead to judgments, judgments lead to defilement, and defilement leads to separation by differences the members of the relationship spiral down the fall of apathy toward one another in the relationship. They no longer attempt to contribute to the destiny of one another because they are growing cold in a revelation of the purpose of the team. They care about their circumstances more than the purpose of the team. They no longer live to contribute to the fellowship of the team. Their thoughts are not to advance the purpose of the relationship, but to fulfill their own purpose. When a relationship degenerates to this level the testimony of purpose is rolled up in exchange for individual pursuits apart from the fellowship of the relationship. At this point the life of the relationship is coming to an end and those left in the assault of its destruction become distracted by things that get their attention from external places. They have lost the life of the relationship and are now asleep in regard to its purpose. They are no longer awake to its destiny and have abandoned the “sent” or “sending word” of faith for the process of the future of the team. A loss of seeing life in the relationship has caused them to give up and they have yielded to find their fellowship in external places. At this point they no longer give the vowed level of relationship toward the team. They are no longer awake to contribute to the life of the relationship and there is a loss of strength for the future. They now believe the relationship is over and will not and cannot wake up. The antidote is found in their CONTRIBUTION to the sent purpose of the relationship. For the relationship to come back to the course of destiny they must WAKE UP to the purpose of the team!

The next phase in the destruction of a relationship is one of atrophy. Apathy in a relationship quickly degenerates to atrophy. Apathy is the place of not caring, while atrophy is the place of being unable to care.

Revelation 6:14  The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

When a relationship degenerates to the place of apathy the loss of fellowship leaves the members unable to draw one another to the place of true love. That loss of love is not just the love of commitment, but also the love of connection that seeks to give all that they have for the purpose of the team. They are now bound to logic and human reasoning and cannot see the value of sacrificial love. When a relationship comes to this point of exasperation the members of the relationship exhibit conversations that are no longer for one another and what comes off of them is an attitude of betterment of themselves and no longer betterment for the team. The future of the relationship is now being exchanged for a new reality like the moving of mountains and the isolation of islands. Now the members of the team see themselves bound in the relationship and can only complain about their own lack of resource and supply. They no longer see the community of the relationship as a thing of value. Their thoughts and concerns are about themselves and not thoughts of giving life to the team. When a covenant team reaches this level of degeneration what seemed permanent relationship is changing and drifting apart.

At this stage the failing member or members can no longer freely offer love. They are going through the motions but not giving their hearts to the relationship. There is no more communion in the relationship, because they no longer see the community of relationship as more important than their own personal needs and agendas. Judgments have destroyed unity and sharing. Judgments have triumphed over unity through diversity. There is now a total loss of sharing and intimacy.  Self-seeking has weekend their will toward personal agendas in the names of logic and reason. The strongholds of their minds prevent them from being open in their hearts toward the relationship. They have quit living in or for the RELATIONSHIP. Natural works have become evident for they have made judgments according to the flesh. They are no longer planted in the community of the relationship. They are no longer drawn, nor do they draw, a freewill level of love. The antidote is unconditional LOVE – an ability to seek to be the substance and the testimony of life to the relationship.

The final stage of destruction to a relationship is the reality of divorce. At this stage the relationship has manifested to be a testimony of nothingness.

Revelation 6:15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains…

This is the testimony of the grave. In the case of a failed relationship, the testimony is now one of burial and dust. There is no more dedication to the future fruitfulness of the relationship. Passion has become lukewarm and has given way to death. There is no more “AWE” in the relationship. The only hope left is for the relationship to return to dust, because there is no more vision of corporate destiny. It has become impossible for the team members to be impassioned to dedicate their lives to one purpose and that purpose is that of the team. A culture of honor has been rejected for a culture of death.

Offenses have caused legitimate needs to be fulfilled illegitimately. The fear of death has empowered judgments of the flesh. The identity of the team has been sacrificed for personal testimonies based upon defilements. Submission to one another has been lost and control and manipulation have damaged the flow of life in the team. An apathetic reality has warranted distraction from purpose by external things. Logic and reasoning has bound the team from knowing the true intimacy of love and the relationship has been fully defeated by a natural testimony of death.

Offenses lead to judgments, judgments lead to defilement, and defilement leads to separation by differences. The measuring of things in the relationship becomes self-focused and apathy spawns a care for external things above the relationship. Logic and reasoning bind the failing members to a stronghold of atrophy toward the future. The result is a divorce and a loss of destiny in the relationship. Can you see how important that first level of connection is? Offences are not worth taking!

Every God-ordained relationship must have within it increasing measures of commitment, faith, response, submission, contribution, love, and dedication. Let’s not forget that the strength of every relationship is only found at its simplest level of its formation. That simplest level is the point of your commitment. That commitment is based upon a revelation of who the others are in the relationship, not what they can do. As I have stated before, I call it a “first love” level of the relationship. The degree of connection to the “first love” level of the relationship will determine the increasing testimony of every other level that follows.

As leaders in the Church we must understand these things and we must live to demonstrate true relationships within our team connections. This is more important than what we say. Who we are as a team will demonstrate God’s grace and will empower those we lead to live in healthy relationships.

Food For Thought

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

I have been addressing the subject of relationships in regard to leaders and the substance of the community they lead. As before, I wrote on this in my weekly blogs of 2012, but I believe this subject is essential for leaders in this leadership resource.

When relationships have a commitment of love they do works of faith toward that relationship. Those acts of love will activate responses that reveal a growing testimony of togetherness that in turn will cause each member of the team to draw together with an attitude and demonstration of submission one to another. A growing revelation of connection will cause members to boldly express themselves in a way that contributes to the corporate cause. The members of the relationship will be drawn toward one another and something will continually manifest in their lives that declares a love and a free gift of giving. The relationship will take on a dimension of destiny and all of the team members will be empowered to do whatever is necessary for the destiny of the team. These are the elements of a covenant life-giving team. Now I will address the issues that destroy relationships.

The enemy would like nothing less than to destroy every human relationship that has ever been. Since people cannot really discover the meaning of relationships without a proper relationship with God, the enemy especially targets God ordained relationships. Since leaders are called to lead, leadership level relationships are a for sure target of the enemy. If we are wise to the schemes of the enemy, we can thwart his attempts to destroy our relationships.

What is it that causes relationships to fail? I believe that the failure of every relationship begins with an earthquake. That earthquake is nothing more than the manifestation of a shaking earth or a shift in a natural reality. It is called an offense. Offenses come when our natural experiences or perceptions tempt us to see things through the eyes of a right and wrong mentality. An offense is a breach in trust and it is a test of our “first love” connections in our relationships. This can be true for our relationship with God or with one another. Something like an earthquake happens that sakes us in our commitment to the relationship.

Revelation 6:12  I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake…

Offenses happen when right and wrong challenges love and relationship. An adherence to the law is a rejection of mercy and grace. Offenses are inroads for deception, conflict, and even the devouring of the core connection of life-giving relationships. Offenses challenge the motivation of the heart and prevent us from giving our hearts to a connection of commitment based upon love. The ground of every relationship will shake at some point. Someone we love will at sometime treat us wrongly, but will we remain in love when challenged by the unfair actions of another? When the ground of our commitment shakes will we take an offense? Taking up an offense is the first step toward destroying a relationship. The antidote to every offense is to return to our “first love” commitment in the relationship. This is not our “first experience” but a “first love” commitment that guarantees new “first experiences”. When we are tempted to be offended we must reaffirm our commitment to trust the relationship. Of course, this takes all parties of the relationship to work to the full effectiveness of life.

Revelation 6:12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair…

The second step in the destruction of a relationship is seen with a darkening in our vision for the relationship. This is a step beyond an offense where we make a judgment. The opposite of faith is natural sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Natural sight or natural perceptions produce judgments according to the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16; Jude 10). Those judgments are self-preserving and are invoked by a fear of death in some way. That death could be a death of our own desires, expectations, hopes, dreams, or any perceived reality of our future. Our sun turns black. Our light turns to darkness. This is the place where faith for works is lost and works of fear begin to prevail. Those works are not team infusing, but self-preserving in some way. This is where we begin to make judgments in the relationship according to things that are naturally true or perceived to be naturally true. Natural sight begins to overpower faith. Earthly wisdom replaces heavenly wisdom in the relationship and judgments make us reluctant to act in faith toward the relationship. This is where we begin to lose our ability to live from the heart and become increasingly bound to the logic of the mind and strongholds of wounded emotions. Judgments are not a testimony of love and only perfect love can cast out all fear. The antidote is to do works that testify of our faith in the relationship. Those works must be rooted in our commitment of love.

Revelation 6:12  I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood…

Now we come to the third stage in the destruction of a relationship. This is where we begin to lose the testimony of relationship in exchange for the testimony of self. We become defiled in our thinking. The moon is a testimony of the sun. It doesn’t have any light of its own; it only reflects the light of the sun. Individual members of a relationship are like the moon. They are meant to reflect the light of the relationship. The Bible teaches that the life of the flesh is in the blood and the moon becoming like blood is a testimony of self-seeking. It is a testimony of the life of the flesh and not the testimony of the Spirit. It is the place where we are no longer responding to the testimony of the relationship, but seek the testimony of our own ways. This is a stage of destruction that destroys the understanding of a corporate connection. Offenses lead to judgments and judgments lead to defilements. When we become defiled in our thinking we are reluctant to respond to the testimony of the relationship. Our world takes on a fleshly focus and a carnal testimony. This is where the thought patterns of the mind begin to put up walls toward the other member or members of the relationship. We must return to our first love commitment, exhibit faith actions of our hearts, and seek to respond to the life connection of the relationship.

When we progress through these stages of destruction we find it more and more difficult to sustain the relationship. Without supernatural connections and heavenly realities in our thinking we cannot maintain God anointed commitment, actions, and responses. This sets us up for a loss of submission in our relationship.

Revelation 6:13 …and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

Stars are a corporate testimony of light in the darkness whereby others can chart their courses in life. Stars can only chart the skies when they live for one another and hold their place of submission. They are defined by their connection to one another and not their agendas for personal identity. They make their heavenly display through a submission one to another and it makes a map toward generational destiny. Without submission we are left with control and manipulation. Submission is a giving reality, while control and manipulation are taking realities. Relationships are meant to reveal a glory that is greater than the individual testimonies within them. Submission to one another makes us part of something greater than our selves. Offenses lead to judgments, judgments lead to defilement, and defilement leads to separation by differences rather than unity through diversity. This is where the individual members of a relationship no longer live for the corporate testimony of the relationship. They lose concern that others are watching their light in the darkness. This is where divisive actions and attitudes manifest and we enter into conversations of darkness. This is where disconnected members become negatively prophetic and their conversations for one another are no longer sweet. Negative conversations with others in regard to covenant relationships are an indication that you are no longer living for the relationship. You’ve lost the corporate testimony of light to darkness and now the light of the relationship is turning to darkness. You have lost your ability to submit to the hope of a new day. The antidote is submission for the purpose of a new day and a testimony of light.

Members of a leadership team must stay committed to one another in their relationships. They must understand that there will be misunderstandings and natural disappointments at times, but team members cannot afford to take any offense with one another. Team members must remain active in their faith toward one another in the team. If they choose to be naturally minded, agenda driven, or self-focused in any way they will open the door for making judgments of their fellow team members and the result will be a disconnection in their hearts that will bring a defilement in the team. When members become concerned about themselves they fail to be life-giving members. The purpose of any leadership team is not just to lead, but also to lead as a team. This means that submission one to another is at the core of defining who they are. Without submission there is no testimony of team. Each team member must be secure in who they are and they must each lead within their measure of God-given grace for the purpose of the team. There is no room for offenses, judgments, defilements, or self-seeking agendas on a leadership team. Keeping healthy relationships with one another is essential to every team.

Next week I will continue in regard to further elements of the enemy’s schemes of bringing destruction to a team. Let’s all guard our hearts from ever allowing an offense to lodge in our hearts that endangers the relationships of our lives.

Food For Thought

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

This month I am addressing the subject of the elements of living relationships. These ingredients are what it takes to walk in a relationship, especially in covenant relationships. I believe that leadership in the church must understand and embrace the elements of relationship for the sake of those they lead. I wrote in regard to these things in my weekly personal blog in 2011, but these things are essential for leaders in the church and thus I am writing of these things in this leadership blog.

I believe there are seven elements in any living relationship. Once again, the elements of life‐giving relationships are most critical in covenant connections, but the principles can apply in any type of relationship in varying degrees. Every relationship must first have a foundation of connection of commitment. This is a place of the heart where you believe in the relationship. For a relationship to last there must first be a believing in the relationship and a first love connection. This will create constant and continual “first experiences” that are essential to the passion and life of the connection.

The second key ingredient to a living relationship is that of “actions”. Those actions are connected to the commitment to the relationship and they are meant to be actions of the heart and not merely the mind. I call this the “faith level” of the relationship. Whatever we believe will always determine how we act. When we believe in a relationship our actions toward that relationship will testify of our commitment to it. The actions by each member of the relationship must be actions of believing in the relationship, not merely actions preformed for the purposes of one’s own agendas. Those actions must be rooted in the belief of the heart and not in the circumstances surrounding or affecting the relationship. Every member must do works that speak of their faith toward one another. Without this, the relationship will begin to dwindle and die. “Actions” of the members of a relationship will testify of the commitment of its members one to another.

If a relationship is going to thrive there must be a “response” level connection. When commitment inspires actions there is then the need for the members of the relationship to “respond” to one another. When the actions of other members in the relationship bring life to its members, each member responds by “spilling over” in the direction of the other members with an evident testimony of the relationship. Commitment inspires actions and actions induce responses of the members of the team toward one another.

Now we come to a very important element of the relationship. That element is one of submission one to another. Now without the first three elements there is no true submission in the relationship. You see true submission is absent control and manipulation. It is not an issue of getting, but rather of giving to the relationship. True submission in a relationship involves freely receiving what another is giving and freely giving what one has to another. It never includes forcing or taking. It is a life giving interchange that brings health, growth, and increasing life to the relationship.

The foundation of a life‐giving relationship is based upon a motivation of commitment. Each member sees that their future is connected to the other members of the team. The members of the relationship are then empowered to do works of faith toward one another and the team. Because they realize their future is with one another, they do actions from their heart for one another and the team. They then become activated to respond to the testimony of the relationship. In a marriage, they see themselves as one flesh. In a covenant team they see themselves as one team. Because of these elements each team member then becomes enlightened to the testimony of submission one to another. There is a strong shield of togetherness in the team whereby each member sees himself or herself easily together and seldom apart.

Each team member is then awakened to contribute to the destiny of the relationship because they have a living revelation of the purpose of the team. They are alert to purpose. They live to contribute to the fellowship of the team. Their thought process is to advance the purpose of the team, whether that be a marriage, a leadership team, or a covenant family.

When a team operates at this level of relationship the members of the team are easily drawn to the love one another. Even their conversations are for one another and what comes off of them is an attitude of betterment for the team and its members. They see the relationship as a place of community and not merely a resource supply for their own lives. Their thoughts and concerns are now those of freely giving to the life of the team. When a covenant team reaches this level of relationship it is easy for its members to be impassioned to dedicate their lives to one purpose and that purpose is that of the team. There is an awe of each other on the team and this is a life‐giving team of destiny. A culture of honor increasingly develops and matures within the team.

I believe that every God‐ordained relationship must have within it increasing measures of commitment, faith, response, submission, contribution, love, and dedication. Next week I will address the failure of such teams, but for this week please consider these elements of a life‐ giving team. To be a covenant team of life every God‐ordained relationship must be filled with members who exhibit the following attributes:

1. Motivated for commitment – My future is with you
2. Empowered to do works of faith – My heart is with you
3. Activated to respond to the testimony of one household – Our footsteps are one
4. Enlightened to the testimony of submission to one another – We walk with a shield of togetherness
5. Awakened to give a contribution to one another – We are of one mind and I am dead without you
6. Drawn to the love one another – What comes out my mouth and off of my life is for us
7. Impassioned to dedicate our lives to one purpose – I see the awe of you as a member of the team – We can do whatever is necessary for the destiny of our team

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

This month I am going to be addressing the subject of relationships. Everything in the body of Christ is about relationship. I believe that everything in life is a matter of relationships. Proper relationships produce the substance of life. It was God’s gift of His Son that gave us eternal life. Eternal life is a place of relationship. It is the gift of knowing God and Jesus Christ whom He sent in a personal way now and forevermore. Intimacy with God is the source of eternal life. It is the source of life and that life more abundant.

As leaders in the body of Christ we must understand the importance of relationships. Relationships are more important than any task of ministry. We are not merely called to serve, but to relate to God and to God’s family. It is out of relationship that we serve. Service in ministry doesn’t create relationships, but proper relationships will empower us to serve in ministry.

There are certain ingredients that are essential in any living relationship. Everything in life is a matter of relationship. Relationship is the most important value of life. It is the key to the expansion of the kingdom of God and it is essential that we as believers in Christ discover the secrets of life-giving relationships. Whether it is your relationship with God, with your spouse in marriage, with your family members, your church members, your leadership team, or whatever relational connection you might have; I believe there are seven Biblical levels of connection. I also believe that here are seven root causes and symptoms of failed relationships. Today I will lay a foundation for us to understand the ingredients to a healthy relationship and as the month unfolds I will present the causes of failure in relationships. I wrote in regard to these things in my June and July weekly personal blogs of 2012, but this same material is essential for us as leaders in Christ’s Church.

Please remember that there are many different types of relationships and that the principles I am presenting are more critical in covenant level connections than in short term objectives. I am especially concerned with covenant level relationships that are meant to bear the fruit of destiny in life. Even if you have experienced a failed covenant relationship, God wants to give you keys for the relationships of the future. I am also going to assume that you, like I, have determined to commit your way to God and that you understand the will for your life is not based upon your own personal agendas. God has a plan for your life and He has your best interests in mind when it comes to relational connections. With this in mind, let me begin to set a foundation for understanding the ingredients of a life-giving relationship.

Within a healthy relationship there is a foundation of commitment for the relationship. So the first key element to a life-giving relationship is a commitment to the other or others in the relationship. This commitment is based upon a divine connection and it is a matter of the heart. It is the source of desire in the relationship. This is why it is very important to consider the possible boundaries for any relationship before allowing your heart to go to a level of commitment. God gives clear direction in His written word that confirms His voice in our lives. If we ignore simple wisdom like “equal yoking”, “godly pursuits”, “godly lifestyles”, “covenant principles” or other things instructed by God we will be inviting a destructive force into the foundation of any relationship we seek. Every relationship will be tested and only those established on God’s word and godly character produce the destiny of God’s will. We won’t get everything right, but we must seek to try to get it right!

The strength of any commitment in a relationship is the heart. Even if you are part of a team that sells a product, you must first be convinced that the product is valuable to those who will buy it. It cannot just be a matter of reasoning of the mind, you must believe in your product in your heart. This is even truer in life-giving relationships. You must believe in your heart that God is good in order for your commitment to Him to be lasting and true. The source of your belief must be rooted in your heart and not merely your head. For a relationship to be birthed and succeed takes a commitment to believe in the ingredients and the purpose of the relationship. The ingredients are its members and the purpose is its destiny.

When a man or woman fall in love with each other the human heart becomes very big and the mind can become very set in its way. I have observed this in too many situations to even count. This is the way of things. It is not a bad thing. I think it is a good thing. The problem comes when we give our hearts to a relationship that we shouldn’t have in the first place, because when a relationship captures our heart our minds become blind to any altering wisdom.  The wonder of the heart is almost like a gift of stupidity to any flaws that might be found. The flaws will soon enough manifest, but relationship is not base upon perfection. It is based upon connection that is willing to seek to press through all things to the perfection that can be found through the relationship.

When we find the key of commitment to a relationship we progress to a second level in the relationship. This is a level of actions. Every relational commitment is testified by actions of faith for the relationship. These are not self-gratifying actions, but actions that seek to reveal a value of our commitment to the other or others in the relationship. Self-gratifying actions are not relational. They are self-focused and will only serve in aiding the destruction of a relationship.

Here is a key to every relationship: the strength of every relationship is only found at its simplest level of its formation. That simplest level is the point of your commitment. I call it a “first love” level of the relationship. The degree of connection to the “first love” level of the relationship will determine the increasing degree of the action level and every other level that follows.

When I counsel couples that are about to enter into the covenant of marriage I make them do a couple of things. First we get a dictionary and we mark out the word “divorce” with a non-translucent dark marker. I instruct them that “divorce” cannot be an option in a covenant life-giving relationship. The removal of the word “divorce” then creates another problem with their dictionary, because if “divorce” can never be an option then neither can words pertaining to “merely existing” or “just getting by”. These types of words must also be removed. We cannot merely “exist” in a relationship and expect it to be a covenant life-giving reality. Since these words are then also removed from their dictionary we must then find a word like “flourish” and we have to mark it with an extremely bright translucent marker so they will pay full attention to its meaning and its development in their relationship. I then tell the couple that the worst day of their marriage should be the day they get married and it should actually be wonderful and astounding! I explain that it is the “worst day” because no other day can look back and make a comparison. It is a first experience that is the result of a “first love” commitment. First experiences are never meant to be repeated; they are meant to be continually lived. Every couple must live in a “first love” level in order to constantly create new “first experiences” in their relationship. Some experiences will be with great joy while others will include great pain, but they will be the experiences that come from committing their lives to one another in all things. It is a place of the heart and not a place of the reasoning of the mind. This principle is true in the highest level of covenant such as marriage, but there is also a reality of this truth in the core connection of a covenant leadership team.

Beyond the level of actions there are levels of response, submission, contribution, selfless love, and dedication. I believe that every God-ordained relationship must have within it increasing measures of commitment, faith, response, submission, contribution, love, and dedication. I will continue with more of these in my next week’s blog. For today please consider the simplest form of every relationship in your life. It begins with a heartfelt commitment. Please return to your “first love” level of commitment and expect this week to begin a new measure of the first experiences discovered in the life-giving relationships of your life.

The “first love” level of commitment is essential to a covenant leadership team. Each member of the team must realize that they are there for one another and that together they stand for the purposes of God in their lives.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

I believe that there are five basic classes of people on planet earth. There are the very poor, the poor, the middle class, the rich, and the very rich. The possessions of these people are not what determine who these people are. Each of these classes of people actually determines how much they possess. These classes of people are based upon the beliefs of their hearts. For a large part those who comprise the Church are very poor in their mentality. The very poor think from day to day. What in us thinks only for today? Whatever in us thinks for today will act for today, think for today, and live for today. A very poor mindset will keep us bound to today. It will not bring blessing of the rich inheritance of God into the earth. What in us doesn’t understand how awesome we are as the family of God? These are the things that keep us bound to a very poor mentality in life.

The second class of people is the poor. Poor people think for some short segment of time. They live for the month, a few months, or maybe even the year. Their strategies and plans look to things that are within their own reach. The live to maintain life in this world, but they don’t live to change the world. They believe in entitlements more than they seek empowerments. Any riches they receive they spend it upon wasted causes and short-term agendas of existence in this world.

The middle class lives year to year and may even plan for the comfort of many years. Their focus is comfort. Much of the Church lives to be comfortable. It is a middle class life. Those with a middle class mindset don’t live for significance, but spend any inheritances they receive on the successes of their own lives.

The rich live for longer segments of time. They may even live a segment of inheritance to their children, but they still lack something of the substance of true destiny. The very rich live for decades and even centuries. Very rich people don’t think about what is going to happen in the next year. They think about changing nations. They think about changing generations. Very rich people don’t live to make more money. They live to change the world. God doesn’t just want to give us possessions; He wants us to be people who possess the earth.

We could have a widow’s coin and not have a poor mentality. We are not equal with others. We are not supposed to be equal with others. God does not want us to be equal with others. He wants each of us to be significant in the worlds in which we live. He wants us to influence others by the things we possess. A lady named Tabitha had to be raised from the dead because she had the mentality of a rich person in this earth. She made valuable clothing for forgotten widows and when she died God summoned Peter to raise her from the dead, because her destiny of bringing heaven to the earth for widows was greater than her ultimate destination to a heaven beyond this world (Acts 9:36-41). Tabitha was a woman with a kingdom mindset in this world.

Abraham understood the keys to a kingdom mindset even while he was still called Abram. When he encountered King Melchizedek upon his return from rescuing Lot and the goods of Sodom, he recognized Melchizedek’s gifts of bread and wine as but a spillover of the blessings God held for him from heaven. Abram spilled over with a tithe of what he had as a covenant response calling for all that God would give him from heaven for his inheritance in the earth (Gen. 14:17-24). He had a mentality of Abraham even though he was still Abram.

Abram was destined to become Abraham, but he didn’t know it. God knew it, but Abram did not. However, Abram thought like a very rich man. He understood that a kingdom mindset has to do with who you are and not what you do.

Abraham was a rich man, but God was very rich (Gen. 13:2,3). When God gave His covenant promise to Abraham a very rich God was talking with a rich man. God was presenting a 100-year plan to a rich man. Abraham was 99 years old. There must be a 100-year plan? The church is 99! There must be a very a 100-year plan! To receive a 100-year plan we must know the one with the 100-year plan.

Genesis 13:2, 3 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.  He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai…

Abraham’s foundation was the mindset of a very rich man. Because he thought like a very rich man he could go from Bethel to Ai. The journey of his life supernaturally demonstrated that as the house of God (Bethel), the only direction you can go is to the heaps and the testimonies of God in the earth (Ai). The real issue of inheritance is that God is very rich and He wants His family to change the world.

Genesis12:7,8 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.  And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Abram moved, but when he moved the house went with him. Too much of the Church is begging to be the house when they are already the house. Build a tabernacle and move! Don’t stay at the memories of what God has done. Move forward with grace that God has given you to do all things.

Move from the place of the house of God because they are the house of God and move west. Ai is on the east and Abram went on a journey still!

Abraham was very rich therefore God could make him exceedingly fruitful.  How do you see yourself? Abraham was not a person. He was a house. How you see yourself determines your beliefs, your actions, your imaginations, and your influences. Do you see yourself as a house? Don’t see yourself as a ministry, a giver of blessings, or a healer. See yourself as God’s inheritance in this earth.

God of heaven, possessor of heaven and earth, impregnate us and activate us to be your testimony of inheritance in this world. Activate us to be very rich so we will be exceedingly fruitful. Give us an impartation and an activation of a 100-year plan for the sake of those we lead.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

 Leader9 – An Audio Teaching on this month’s subject.

 Leader9 – A PDF Outline