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 "A
New Breed of Leadership is Arising!"
by RICK JOYNER
http://www.morningstarministries.org/
With our upcoming Harvest Fest,
we will have hosted about fifty conferences altogether. Our whole team is
basically on autopilot for them now, and sometimes we do not start getting
ready until a couple of days before the conference. I was surprised when I
started feeling an uncommon sense of anticipation for this one many months
ago. This caused me to start inquiring of the Lord about it then. I was
immediately told that this was going to be the most important conference or
event we have ever hosted. Even so, I have only recently been shown why.
Anticipation
of Radical Change
I am now convinced that something is going to happen at Harvest Fest that
will not only impact the body of Christ, but will ultimately change its
course so dramatically that those dates will one day be known as the days
that the church changed. It may not be obvious to everyone during the
conference, or even for a time after it. The kingdom of God does not always
come with signs to be observed. Even so, during those few days a radical
change will take place that will have a radical impact on our future.
This conference will begin on September 24th with prayer for all of the
teams serving, and the dozens of ministries, publishers, and churches that
are hosting tabernacles for this event. This is what the Scripture says
about this date, the 24th day of the ninth month, in Haggai 2:18-23:
"Do consider from this day onward, from the
twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the
Lord was founded, consider:
"Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the
pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on
I will bless you.'"
Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth
day of the month, saying,
"Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, "I am going to shake the
heavens and the earth.
"I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the
kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders,
and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of
another.'
"On that day,' declares the Lord of hosts, "I will take you, Zerubbabel, son
of
Shealtiel, My servant,' declares the Lord, "and I will make you like a
signet ring, for I have chosen you,'" declares the Lord of hosts.
Zerubbabel means "sown in Babylon," or "sown in confusion." This is really
true of the church in our times and the times we are in to a large degree.
However, right in the midst of some of the worst confusion, great clarity of
purpose is going to come. Many will be commissioned to their ultimate
purpose during these days.
A New Breed of Leadership Will Take Over
Just a few months ago the
commissioning of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ronald Reagan was televised. I
am not prone to watch this type of thing, but as I was channel surfing the
anointing on this particular ceremony stunned and captured me so that I sat
transfixed through the entire event. I also understand that often in
prophetic symbolism, ships represent leader-ship. I felt immediately this
ship was prophetic of the new breed of leadership that was about to be
commissioned.
When President Reagan, who this ship was named after, was inaugurated, the
country was certainly in the malaise that his predecessor, Jimmy Carter, had
stated. The economy was crippled by near 20 percent interest rates. The
military had been stripped, weakened, and demoralized, even as it confronted
the mighty and threatening, Soviet Empire. The revolutionary government of
Iran had humiliated the United States by seizing its embassy and imprisoning
the ambassador and his entire staff, while our government sat seemingly
helpless to do anything about it.
There is presently a shocking malaise that has come over the church. A
Gallup pole revealed that tithing was down nearly two-thirds in just the
past year. Just two years ago, right after the 9-11 attacks, church
attendance broke all records. Now it may be hitting its lowest levels per
capita in United States history. At the same time, almost every barometer of
spiritual hunger is down dramatically. It has probably not been this dry
spiritually in America for decades. However, dry woods catch fire easier,
and we are about to experience one of the greatest spiritual awakenings in
our history. The fire is about to fall.
A Movement Starts By Moving
There was a weird sense
that the Carter Administration was trying to win the world over to our side
by being nice to everybody. During that time, one felt that they had to
continually apologize for just being an American. This emboldened the
enemies of the United States and caused the world to laugh and scorn
America. They perceived this attempt to win the world by being nice as a
lack of strength and resolve.
At that time, the United States was a very wounded animal from the Vietnam
debacle, and as she lay focused on her wounds the enemies circled, nipping
at her continually while waiting for the chance to pounce and kill. Then
Ronald Reagan became President and everything quickly and dramatically,
changed.
Just before the inauguration, Iran released the embassy hostages. There was
a general feeling that if they had not done this, there would have been
swift consequences. The whole world seemed to sense that he would be a man
of action, not just words. They were right.
Reagan immediately began to rebuild the military, starting with its
self-esteem. He immediately passed a major tax cut that many said would be
the doom of our economy. To just about everyone's surprise, it worked, and
the economy started turning around, gaining strength and momentum. This
probably did not have as much to do with the tax cut as with the sense that
there was a strong, proactive, leader at the helm who at least seemed to
know where he was going, and why.
No Longer Wounded
Ronald Reagan really did know where he was going, and why. He was one of our
greatest "principled leaders." There were certain basic principles that he
felt had made America great, and would keep her great, and he was resolved
to lead based on them. Immediately America's enemies started backing off
from the "wounded animal" that suddenly did not seem wounded anymore. She
got up on her feet, and looked both strong and full of fight. We were no
longer overly focused on our wounds, our problems, but started having a
sense once again of who we were and what we were called to do.
Ronald Reagan had the demeanor of a kind grandfather who would have given
the shirt off of his back to a homeless person, but would fight to the death
with even the most powerful enemy who threatened his family - America and the
free world. This gave the country a secure, protected feeling. Regardless of
whether he always took the right action, he was unquestionably a man of
action, and would do something. In time, even his worst critics admitted to
liking him, and confessed that his accomplishments were significant, and
even remarkable. They were more than that - they were salvation for a world
quickly falling into the abyss.
Just by America taking a stand and showing resolve, the enemies of freedom
began to retreat. Without question, Ronald Reagan's leadership, not just his
policies, caused the collapse of the Soviet Empire, and brought down the
Iron Curtain. These most powerful strongholds collapsed because principled
leadership, with resolve, stood up and took decisive leadership. His
unquestionable willingness to use force probably saved millions of lives
from death in what seemed to one day be inevitable - a war between the great
powers.
Anointed and
Prepared
Ronald Reagan did not do this just by the strength of his own character, but
he was anointed and prepared for the task. At the right time, when America
was in its deepest malaise and confusion, he stepped into the place for
which he had been prepared, and simply did what was natural for him to do.
He took decisive leadership based on his principles of devotion to God and
freedom.
As I watched the commissioning ceremony of the United States Ship Ronald
Reagan, not only our newest carrier, but the most powerful warship to have
ever been launched, I knew something great was being released in America for
these times - principled, strong leadership that will bring great strongholds
down.
As the first watch on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan was being set, I had a
powerful sense that there was a changing of the guard in the leadership of
America. Just as the officers and crew who would take this new carrier to
sea took over all of the positions throughout this new ship, there is a
whole new, principled, strong leadership that will be taking over key
positions throughout the ship of state. Principled, strong leadership is
coming to America, and they will take this ship to sea - to the nations.
No Perfect,
Yet Effective
The feeling that we need to apologize for being Americans is over. America
has been raised up to take strong, decisive leadership in these times. We
will not do it perfectly, as that will not be done until Jesus returns to
set up His kingdom. Even so, what we do will be done effectively, and it
will be to the benefit of the nations, especially the poor nations of the
world, whose time has come to ascend. Many mountains are about to be brought
low, and many valleys raised up.
This new principled, decisive, leadership is also coming to the church. Just
as the setting of the first watch on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan represented a
changing of the guard from those who built the ship to those who would sail
it, a new, bold, proactive, leadership is coming to the church. They will
not be content to just build things - they are going to use them.
Showing the
Flag
When warships sail into foreign ports, it is called "showing the flag", or
we might say, "showing the standard." For several centuries, this has been
an important factor in the foreign policy of nations. However, a flag did
not mean much unless the nation it represented was strong, and had respected
leadership. There is about to be a whole new level of this type of
diplomacy, both in the nations and in the church. Even so, the standards
that are shown will only mean something if there is strength and leadership
backing them up. There is a new and powerful anointing coming on standards
and flags, but it will be because of the substance that backs them up. If
this type of policy is effective enough, it can help to avoid conflicts.
So there is a place for "showing the flag," but it is wisdom to know when to
use this, and when not to. It was stated in the commissioning ceremony of
the Ronald Reagan that this ship would not only "show the flag," but also it
would fight. Its power was not just for show, but to be used. As stated, in
prophetic symbolism ships often represent leader-ship. This is the kind of
leadership that will now emerge in both the country and the church. There is
a proactive leadership crew that is about to take over every position on the
ship that wants to go to sea. They will not care about looking good but
getting the job done that they have been given to do.
We have not heard much from the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan yet, but we will. Few
have perceived the changes going on in government, business, and all other
major elements of the nation, but we will. Few have perceived the changes
now taking place in the leadership of the church, but they too will soon
become obvious.
No Apology
You can count on one thing - this new leadership will not be apologizing for
being Christians. This does not negate the rightful place for repentance for
past mistakes, but for some this has gone way too far. The fleet is about to
sail again! There is a new leadership with a clear directive to take their
ships to sea, and to fight for righteousness and justice. Those who are
being raised up will lead, and they will fight.
Sponsoring conferences has been a part of our mandate as a ministry for many
years, but we are not oriented toward "event Christianity." By this I mean
that we know we will not be judged by how good the events themselves are,
but by how the people attending them are changed, and what it produces in
their lives, and those they will influence, long after the event is over.
There will be a clear trumpet call at the upcoming Harvest Fest, and it will
be an in-your-face wake up call. Those who attend will not only be
different, but they will go forth from there to make a difference. It will
not matter how many there are. What will matter is who they are. A new breed
of leader is about to be commissioned.
by RICK JOYNER
http://www.morningstarministries.org/
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A Personal Note From Rick
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I hope to see you at
The
Harvest Fest Conference next month (September 25-28).
This will be our most important conference ever. A clear trumpet call
will go forth. Believers from possibly every state, and many other
nations, have been registering.
There is abundant camping available, and we have blocked hotel rooms
with special rates for miles around. For more information, or to
register, check out the Conferences Section on this website:
www.morningstarministries.org or call our toll free number
1-800-542-0278. |
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The Elijah List
http://www.elijahlist.com
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The
Chosen Path
