The Generational Journey
Hello to You All;
I hope everyone is well. I am feeling good today. I am very close to finishing the 2009 School of Eagles. This week team of 8 is off to the Apache Nation in Arizona for a week to be involved in evangelism with Evangelist James Williams. James is one of my former school graduates and is doing a great work of life-giving ministry among the Native American people. The students will have a great experience. I will be traveling to the United Kingdom on Tuesday to participate in our annual RIM conference in the Manchester area. I know God will do good things there as well. I will be in Bulgaria the following week and I am looking forward to being with my friends and family there.
Today I want to continue on with the theme of a generational destiny. I believe this theme is most important in this time and season in the earth. There are many noises to listen to in the world and it is easy to bow to the music of the world around us. We must not be distracted by a noise, but must listen for the sound of God in the earth. That sound is a generational sound. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel. He is the God of Paul, Timothy, faithful men, and others also. The sound of God in our lives will release His blessings to the inheritance of our lives.
Last week I talked about the place of stretching. It is in the place of stretching that we are able to see God where we could not see Him before. We cannot go forward in a generational destiny without seeing God in the place where we are. That place is the place of being stretched. So, wherever you are being stretched today, look to see God there. Look for Him in the place you don’t think He is and you will find Him there.
When Abram began his journey forward from the place of stretching (Gen. 12:7, 8) he very quickly came to a place of testing. He found the land in a state of famine. The Scripture says that He went down into Egypt and in the next chapter we see that he came out a very rich man (Gen. 12:10; 13:1). What looked like famine didn’t hinder God’s blessing in Abram’s life! It probably felt like famine before it looked like blessing. I am sure it was a challenge to Abram’s mind. If you read the story you will discover that it appears that Abram’s actions were even somewhat questionable with telling Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister. The amazing thing is that God worked it out for good. Even though it seems like some actions may have been questionable, Abram’s walk was still one of faith. He trusted God in a time of famine. We can follow the example of Abram’s faith and know that our walk in this journey of generational destiny is one of faith. We must walk by faith and not by sight. The opposite of faith is natural sight. That sight can include our natural experiences, how it feels, how it sounds, how it smells, and the way it affects and triggers our natural understanding. We base these things upon the experiences of our past or our understanding of the experiences of others. We must trust God in the time of testing and walk by faith not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).
When Abram left Egypt he continued on his journey as a very rich man. The Scripture then reveals that he again built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 13:2-4). We must never forget to call upon God when we are blessed. It is easy to call upon God when we are in distress and trouble, but it is easy to forget to call upon Him when everything is going good. A key to a generational mindset and destiny is to be as desperate for God when you are blessed as when you are in want. Let’s not forget to present our lives to Him always as a place for His habitation!
As Abram proceeded in his journey he came to a place in the process where strife begins to break out between the company of Lot and his own company. The land could not provide for both Lot and Abram and therefore Abram recognized that Lot had to separate from him. Lot was the son of his dead brother (Gen. 13:5-11). I believe that Lot had an abandoned or an orphan spirit. Lot’s focus in life was meeting his own needs and he was willing to settle for comfort and blessing rather than pursue a journey of generational destiny. When given the choice he chose the land that appeared to be the most prosperous to him. He didn’t even care if the land was filled with evil and compromise. He was looking to see his own needs met and was not concerned about a journey that would bring eternal blessings to the generations to come. Abram knew that whatever land he ended up with, God would bless him in the generational promises. Even if it looked like desert sand it would be ok, because God’s promise was a generational promise in his life. Abram recognized and was willing to separate from the things that were not of a generational mindset. Those things were represented in the company of Lot. If we want to have a generational mindset we must be willing to separate from the things that are not a part of generational thinking. These are the things that keep us focused on ourselves.
These are generally those things birthed in our past tragedies, disappointments, or experiences that promote fatherless mentalities. They are a part of an abandoned or orphan spirit.
Lot didn’t live for the inheritance of tomorrow. He chose the pleasures of the present, not the generational promises of God. Lot lived for the pleasures of today.
He didn’t care about tomorrow.
We must be willing to separate from the things that don’t have a generational mindset. What things will prevent us from living for the future? Those are the things that will demand the comfort of our own lives and will sacrifice the inheritance for the future generations of God in our destinies.
Again, just some generational thoughts,
Apostle Ted J. Hanson
I hope everyone is well. I am feeling good today. I am very close to finishing the 2009 School of Eagles. This week team of 8 is off to the Apache Nation in Arizona for a week to be involved in evangelism with Evangelist James Williams. James is one of my former school graduates and is doing a great work of life-giving ministry among the Native American people. The students will have a great experience. I will be traveling to the United Kingdom on Tuesday to participate in our annual RIM conference in the Manchester area. I know God will do good things there as well. I will be in Bulgaria the following week and I am looking forward to being with my friends and family there.
Today I want to continue on with the theme of a generational destiny. I believe this theme is most important in this time and season in the earth. There are many noises to listen to in the world and it is easy to bow to the music of the world around us. We must not be distracted by a noise, but must listen for the sound of God in the earth. That sound is a generational sound. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel. He is the God of Paul, Timothy, faithful men, and others also. The sound of God in our lives will release His blessings to the inheritance of our lives.
Last week I talked about the place of stretching. It is in the place of stretching that we are able to see God where we could not see Him before. We cannot go forward in a generational destiny without seeing God in the place where we are. That place is the place of being stretched. So, wherever you are being stretched today, look to see God there. Look for Him in the place you don’t think He is and you will find Him there.
When Abram began his journey forward from the place of stretching (Gen. 12:7, 8) he very quickly came to a place of testing. He found the land in a state of famine. The Scripture says that He went down into Egypt and in the next chapter we see that he came out a very rich man (Gen. 12:10; 13:1). What looked like famine didn’t hinder God’s blessing in Abram’s life! It probably felt like famine before it looked like blessing. I am sure it was a challenge to Abram’s mind. If you read the story you will discover that it appears that Abram’s actions were even somewhat questionable with telling Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister. The amazing thing is that God worked it out for good. Even though it seems like some actions may have been questionable, Abram’s walk was still one of faith. He trusted God in a time of famine. We can follow the example of Abram’s faith and know that our walk in this journey of generational destiny is one of faith. We must walk by faith and not by sight. The opposite of faith is natural sight. That sight can include our natural experiences, how it feels, how it sounds, how it smells, and the way it affects and triggers our natural understanding. We base these things upon the experiences of our past or our understanding of the experiences of others. We must trust God in the time of testing and walk by faith not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).
When Abram left Egypt he continued on his journey as a very rich man. The Scripture then reveals that he again built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 13:2-4). We must never forget to call upon God when we are blessed. It is easy to call upon God when we are in distress and trouble, but it is easy to forget to call upon Him when everything is going good. A key to a generational mindset and destiny is to be as desperate for God when you are blessed as when you are in want. Let’s not forget to present our lives to Him always as a place for His habitation!
As Abram proceeded in his journey he came to a place in the process where strife begins to break out between the company of Lot and his own company. The land could not provide for both Lot and Abram and therefore Abram recognized that Lot had to separate from him. Lot was the son of his dead brother (Gen. 13:5-11). I believe that Lot had an abandoned or an orphan spirit. Lot’s focus in life was meeting his own needs and he was willing to settle for comfort and blessing rather than pursue a journey of generational destiny. When given the choice he chose the land that appeared to be the most prosperous to him. He didn’t even care if the land was filled with evil and compromise. He was looking to see his own needs met and was not concerned about a journey that would bring eternal blessings to the generations to come. Abram knew that whatever land he ended up with, God would bless him in the generational promises. Even if it looked like desert sand it would be ok, because God’s promise was a generational promise in his life. Abram recognized and was willing to separate from the things that were not of a generational mindset. Those things were represented in the company of Lot. If we want to have a generational mindset we must be willing to separate from the things that are not a part of generational thinking. These are the things that keep us focused on ourselves.
These are generally those things birthed in our past tragedies, disappointments, or experiences that promote fatherless mentalities. They are a part of an abandoned or orphan spirit.
Lot didn’t live for the inheritance of tomorrow. He chose the pleasures of the present, not the generational promises of God. Lot lived for the pleasures of today.
He didn’t care about tomorrow.
We must be willing to separate from the things that don’t have a generational mindset. What things will prevent us from living for the future? Those are the things that will demand the comfort of our own lives and will sacrifice the inheritance for the future generations of God in our destinies.
Again, just some generational thoughts,
Apostle Ted J. Hanson
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