Opening illustration: Scientists studied a native tribe in South America whose people have been dying prematurely for generations. After thorough investigation, the cause of premature death was determined. The disease was transmitted by an insect that lived in the walls of their adobe homes. This new information presented several options. They could move to another area where such insects don’t exist, tear down their homes and rebuild them, use insecticide to rid their homes of the bugs, or, continue as they have and die early. Surprisingly, these people have opted to remain as they are and do nothing about their problem. Many people behave similarly. To save themselves, they know what they must do; instead, they opt to remain unchanged.
Therefore this first Sunday of January 2013, we will be pondering and laying down the vision for ‘the Well’ for this year.
Introduction: What is God saying as we enter 2013? Many Christians have a gloomy outlook. They are focused on the negative events of 2012: Freakish weather patterns, mass shootings, political division and the looming fiscal cliff. Others wring their hands over our national shift in values and declare that God will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if He doesn’t judge us swiftly.
There’s no doubt we deserve fire and brimstone for our sins. Yet when I pray for our nation in the light of the cross of Christ, I am reminded that His plan is redemption, not destruction. And I know and believe that God has redemption in mind for 2013.
At the end of each year we all who walk the prophetic call always seek the Lord for a clear prophetic word for our own lives, and sometimes God reveals to us about our own nation. This year the message has been clear. He told us which has been clearly confirmed and received by the prophetic realm in our nation: “Pray for a great awakening in the younger generation.”
How should the new generation be empowered?
1. Spirit of Samuel (Prophetic Gift) – 1 Samuel 3: 19-20
The story of Samuel is just as fascinating. He was born during a time of acute spiritual famine and corruption. Eli, the high priest of the day, had lost all connection with God and his entire household was corrupt, causing the people of Israel to sin in the temple and at the altar. The Word of God even says that "there was no open vision" in Israel due to this. Very much parallel the times we live in today in America.
Samuel, as a young boy, ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli, and during that time, the heaven opened up and God's voice was once again heard clearly. It's amazing how dull and dim-sighted a religious spirit makes men. Eventually, when Samuel did hear God's voice, what he heard was shocking. God basically informed Samuel, the young boy that He was going to destroy Eli and his family in order to bring an end to the stagnancy and the spiritual lack in Israel.
You have to destroy every present hindrance before you can move to your next level. I want to give you a task to do: Take a pen and write down every hindrance that you can see is stopping you from moving to your next level of freedom, liberty and happiness.
There was a time in Israel that parallels our current cultural climate. That time is described in 1 Samuel 15. It was a time when the lamp of God went out, the Ark of the Covenant was lost, and the presence of God departed the land. The priesthood of the nation, under Eli and his sons Hophni and Phineas, was corrupt and morally weak and soon came under God’s judgment. The future appeared dismal.
God always has a thread of redemption. Even when He is in the middle of correcting His people, He has a plan of redemption and restoration. We see this in 1 Samuel 1-4, as well as in Jeremiah 33. Samuel was instrumental to the reconfirming of God’s covenant with Israel following Hophni and Phineas’ destructive leadership tenure. Samuel represented a new generation - a righteous priesthood to replace that which was profaned. He was an uncompromised, prophetic voice of courage used by God to call the people back to His ways.
I believe in our own nation, God is going to raise up a new, prophetic voice of courage, one that will call our nation back to God. This Samuel generation will challenge the unjust activities going on in our country to silence the body of Christ. They will refill the lamp of God with the oil of the Spirit and restore His light within the church.
Our restoration as a nation, however, requires that we take an honest look at our true state. We cannot continue on as we have been and expect different results. To remain on the same path will only mean a further moral decline. God used Samuel to show Israel their true state. His predecessor, Eli, had lost his eyesight. Eli had allowed the evil his sons were committing to continue. He maintained the status quo. As a result, the Lord had to raise up Samuel to expose the true state of Israel’s leadership.
I know God wants to empower a generation in our land who will serve this same purpose. They are unwilling to allow the evil that is being committed to continue unchecked. They are not interested in maintaining the status quo. Their concern is for the true state of the church and of the nation, and they will be courageous in speaking forth God’s truth.
My question to you is, “Will you be a Samuel in your generation?” Will you be one whose life is dedicated and set apart to the Lord? Will you be one who listens to hear the voice of God and who answers in obedience? Will you be a voice of courage to a wayward generation? The Lord Jesus Christ is the only hope for our wayward nation. He alone is Savior and it is only by His blood that our redemption and restoration comes. But God is looking for a generation to partner with Him in his restorative work. He is looking for a people who will be part of his redemptive work to save America.
2. Spirit of David (Pastoral Gift) – 1 Samuel 16: 11-13
As prophesied at the beginning of the year, this is the "Year of the Youth," and the year for us to conquer our mountain. Many mountains were conquered because of youth. The mountain of religious corruption and stagnation was conquered by Samuel, in the presence of the corruption - the high priest Eli. The mountain of manipulation, intimidation and fear was conquered by young David in the presence of Goliath and King Saul.
The first time David publicly displayed his courage was when, as an inexperienced boy armed with only a stick and a few stones, he confronted the nine-foot, bronze armored Philistine giant, Goliath of Gath. After skilled warriors had cowered in fear for 40 days, David made a slingshot, invoked God’s name, and killed the giant. After this, Saul took David on as commander of his troops and David formed a close friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan.
Saul’s jealousy of David grew and he asked his son Jonathan to kill David. Jonathan was a friend of David’s, however, and hid David instead. He then went to his father and convinced Saul to promise not to kill David. Saul promised, and David returned to his service. This promise did not last and, after Saul attempted to kill David a second time, Michal helped David run away to the prophet Samuel in Ramah. David returned briefly to make a pact of peace with Jonathan and to verify that Saul was still planning to kill him. He then continued his flight from Saul, finding refuge with the king of Moab. On the way, the priest Ahimelech of Nob gave David a weapon. Those who rejected David were all destroyed. Saul did not succeed in killing David; God saw to it that Saul lost his life. Those who rejected David became his enemies. More than that, they became God’s enemies, and for this they paid an eternal price.
David was a Shepherd, which out of necessity at the time also taught him fighting skills when defending the flocks from predatory wild animals, including lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-35). In quieter times, he also developed his musical skills with the flute and harp. David was not only a great song writer and musician but a great divine dancer for the Lord. He would dance before the Lord with all his might.
God chose him to be the king of Israel not because of his physical appearance or qualifications but because he was a committed and dedicated shepherd to his sheep. He had a profound call to be a shepherd. He would put his life on the line if anyone of them was threatened, intimidated or attacked by the enemy. Therefore God could trust him to take care of His own people – Israel. Though king David began his rule with a bunch of pitiful losers, but by the end of the story his followers had become “mighty men” who performed valiant military feats (2 Samuel 23:8-22). Please remember that the Holy Spirit has not finished shaping this generation!
If you struggle with knowing how to pray and learning how to hear God's voice, spend some time with the Psalms of David. He learned to talk to and listen to God like perhaps no one else ever has besides Christ. In prayer, David found comfort, forgiveness and direction. Prayer can do the same thing for us if we only spend the time to do it.
David was a remarkable man. Obedient and patient, he persevered through hardships trusting in God. He relied entirely on God. When he did stumble, he was quick to repent and ask forgiveness and didn't repeat his sins. He took personal responsibility for his actions and didn't try to get out of the consequences. He took the time to learn God's voice and thank God in everything. He was a man after ‘God’s own Heart.’ All of us could learn from David.
David is an example of the man who is “full of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit comes upon him once, and abides in him, just as the Spirit came upon our Lord and remained on Him. The manifestations of the Spirit were often not spectacular. In David’s case, as with our Lord, their spirituality was evident in their love for God and in their desire to do His will. Over and over, we find David seeking God’s will. Seldom do we see this with Saul. Whenever God will not reveal Himself to Saul, Saul will attempt to hear from one who has died (via the witch at Endor). Let us be careful not to judge spirituality by outward appearances (1 Samuel 16:7). The presence of the Spirit is more certainly known by one’s character than by one’s charisma. Paul has much to say about this in 1 Corinthians.
3. Spirit of Daniel (Administrative Gift) – Daniel 6: 1-3
His story is intriguing because it illustrates to us the possibilities of godliness in the midst of circumstances of ungodliness. Daniel and his friends remained loyal to God even though in captivity and exposed to all the enticements of the royal court. It took courage to resist the easy life and be found godly in the midst of an ungodly atmosphere. They took a definite and positive stand for principle when everything around them seemed to be against principle.
Daniel excelled in the spirit. He placed his physical appetites secondary, and the spirit became the chief thing. Here is the reason that Daniel could interpret dreams and obtain spiritual insight which few others did. How tragic it is that even good Christians spend so much time on the seen and so little on the unseen; so much time on the physical and so little on the spiritual; so much time on the tangible and so little on the intangible in Daniel, the physical did not possess a spirit, but the spiritual possessed a body. This is why he could purpose in his heart that he would not sin against God or defile his flesh with the king's meat. This indicates that he gave much thought as to his purpose in life. He found his duties, found the will of God for his life, and built all else around it in a world of materialism and physical attraction.
The key to Daniel’s commitment and loyalty is found in our text, “an excellent spirit was found in him.” Simply put, this means in Daniel his spirit, not his flesh was his predominant part. With this in mind let’s examine the qualities of this spirit manifested in this man in whom the spirit excelled. I want to look at four aspects of Daniel’s spirit that reveal to us what life is, where spirit excels, where it is dominant and where it is enthroned. He held one of the top administrative positions in the Persian Empire where the Jews were more or less treated like slaves.
Daniel, the man of excellent spirit was, first, a man of Purpose, second, a man of Prayer; third, a man of Perception; and, finally, a man of Power.
(i) Purpose: To delay a decision when we first are aware of perilous circumstances leads to compromise and can unless we are careful eventually lead to apostasy. Purpose in a person’s life is all important. It gives an anchor in times of storm and a firm base in the day of battle. To have committed oneself to a definite thing is of value in every walk of life. For Daniel, his deepest purpose was loyalty to God. This was initially established by refusing the king’s meat, but there was hardly a day when Daniel didn’t have to defend his position and declare his loyalty to God. I meet scores of people who say, “I try, but I fail. I want to be a Christian, but this or that stands in my way.” My answer is, “You are not to do these things to become a Christian; you are to become a Christian to be able to do these things.”
(ii) Prayer: Nothing stands out in the story of Daniel more clearly than the fact that he was a man of prayer. He received the interpretation of the king’s dream through prayer. We read of his personal habit of praying three times a day even in the face of adversity. His desire was to communicate with God. Strong purpose is powerful in execution only as we are dependent upon God. The heart may be determined on loyalty, but unless we know how to lean hard on God the forces against us will prove too much for us. But, a man meaning to do right and depending on God is absolutely invincible.
(iii) Perception: Now comes the first of the two results I mentioned earlier. The spirit of perception. There is no doubt that the interpretation of the dream that Daniel received after prayer was a special gift given by God for a specific purpose. The application for us is that the person who has made their purpose known and prays will be given clarity of vision that will allow them to accomplish the divine work God has for them. It may be as in Daniel’s case an interpretation or it may take another form. The important thing is the person who has purpose and prays will have a quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.
(iv) Power: Daniel achieved a position of great worldly power. He held office in three kingdoms, Babylon, Medes and Persia. He was trusted, feared and respected by men. I am not teaching that one who has a purpose, who prays and has perception will be a person who is promoted to greatness; but such a person will become a person of power. To see the issues, to understand the virtues, and to be able to say no when the moment of decision arrives. Today more than ever we need people who are to be considered “of excellent spirit.” People whom the spirit has anchored in purpose, strengthened in prayer, is leading in perception and consequently exhibit power in all aspects of their lives.
Application: The list goes on and on. But what is important for us to understand is that if God revealed to us that He is about to cast a mantle upon the youth, then we must suppose without a doubt that there is deliverance from a certain corruption, stagnation, religious witchcraft and the grip that humanity has found itself in at this present time. We are about to conquer many mountains. What is the mountain that you wish to conquer? This is your year to do it and this is your time.
This is the year for empowering the new generation with prophetic, pastoral and administrative gifts. We the generation that goes before the new generation has to mentor and facilitate it and the new generation needs to come under that mentorship and grab hold of the opportunities that are given to them to further God’s Kingdom by igniting a passion to follow Jesus Christ.
