My Blog Impact

As believers make the choice to draw closer and closer to God and make heaven a reality here on earth, the voice of the Lord becomes clearer and clearer.

The Lord has spoken to me on several occasions that this year, 2011, is the year of transition: transitioning out of warring and into victory...victory that occupies...occupation that leads to expansion. I've been asking the Lord what that looks like for the church on a local level and I feel that how the Lord responded is not just for the local church, but the church as a whole. As churches and ministries are many times prophetically referred to as vehicles: cars, planes, trains, ships, etc.

The Lord used various types of ships to reveal His heart in this manner: "Many churches today are like cruise ships. They provide a lot of entertainment, programs and good food but bear little to no lasting fruit. Other churches are like cargo ships that are heavy, bulky, move slowly and carry a lot of containers (other ministries) filled with canned non-perishable food, instead of fresh food that brings life and true nurishment. Other churches are like various kinds of fast boats and yachts that go on a short junket, go out into the deep waters, but soon return to the dock or marina where similar boats and yachts are tied up. They have lots of "weekend dock parties" but come Monday morning, it's "work as usual". There are even ministries that are like tug boats: for years they have been trying to push or pull other ships into port (their destiny). Some have succeeded though the process was slow and arduous, even tiring. The Lord is saying to the church today that in order to be prepared for the transition that has already been set into motion, those churches/ministries that are as agile, quick shifting and lightweight as the catamoran are the ones that will enjoy the greatest measure of "effortless fruit": those who prefer His continual presence more than programs. Whether it be a large or small catamoran is not the issue, but successfully shifting in this transition will be about having captains who know wind and water currents, know how to tact (come about) quickly, drawing in the sheets (the cords to the sails) tightly and releasing them at the right moment (training/equipping/deploying).

For those who are willing to cast off all the dead weight and non essentials they will be the ones who will be the forerunners of this great move/outpouring of God, reaping great rewards from the Kingdom (victory) and even for the Kingdom (occupation/expansion). Much of their provision will be from supernatural resources that have yet to be tapped into, even new strategies are being revealed in this season.

By Kerry Black.

Russell & Kerry Black are directors of Latin Impact Ministries in Homestead, Florida.