This is a guest post from Brandy Flanagan. Brandy is an entrepreneur with a passion to teach believers how to use business principles to advance the Kingdom of God. Brandy’s bio can be read at the bottom of the post.
I recently shared a prophetic word on my personal Facebook page God spoke to me towards the end of 2020:
There are those who God has set aside for years, developing them in other areas of influence; many in the quietness of their home. Now is the time for those individuals to arise. For you have been purposed for such a time as this.
This prophetic word was preceded by an encounter with the Lord I had months earlier in September. I was abruptly woken out of my sleep and instructed:
“Teach My people how to sell Jesus in this modern culture.”
I clumsily searched for my phone, trying to get my eyes to focus in an effort to write what He was downloading to me. He continued to impress upon me His desire for me to use the strategies and principles I had learned for 20 years in the business realm to teach the Church how to market Jesus in an effective manner.
I must be honest, I was a little taken back because “selling” Jesus seemed offensive to me, initially. However, as He continued to talk and I continued to write down what He was saying, I completely understood what He was asking me to do.
Fast forward to January 2021, I began hearing others in the Prophetic movement speaking of a burning desire for revival in America. The word revival has been thrown around so much in the church, I did not think much about it at first. Then one day as I was mundanely making my bed, I had what some would call an open vision. In the blink of an eye, I saw a map of the United States of America with fire emojis across different cities and states. I immediately heard the voice of the Lord say,
“I am preparing unknowns to host a great inhabitation of the fire of the Holy Spirit across America.”
He continued showing me this pouring out of His presence will not be like previous revivals. It will be multiple locations, in multiple states, through multiple individuals.
Brothers and sisters, the Father is birthing revival in America through unknowns who the Holy Spirit has been equipping as they served in other areas such as business, government, entertainment/arts, media, education, and family.
The question is WHY is the Father choosing to reach outside the American church building to find people to establish His will on Earth concerning this inhabitation?
The answer can be found in the Gospels when Jesus stepped on the scene originally. When choosing the disciples, Jesus did not go to the church house. The disciples were businessmen (fishermen), employed by the government (tax collector), etc. He discipled and developed these individuals to carry the very message He came from Heaven to Earth to establish. The ones Jesus consistently confronted and scolded were the religious scholars; those more concerned with rules and appearances than people. Jesus chose people over the modern day-religion dos and don’ts. The truth is, Jesus chose these individuals to be the disciples because it was easier to reach and teach them than it was to un-teach the religious elite.
Side note: Jesus, himself was a businessman; a carpenter. Its evident God was discipling Him and equipping Him while in the business realm all those years before establishing Him as the Son of God and starting His ministry in His 30’s.
Jesus is stepping on the scene again… doing it through the same type of individuals.
In some regions, God will be able to pour out this great inhabitation of His presence through the church house and in other places He will be required to do it outside the church house. This again is modeled in the New Testament Gospels. Jesus and the disciples ministered inside tabernacles at times while other times it was in the streets, bodies of water, and mountains. What will make the difference? The difference will be church leaders who humble themselves and make room for these individuals God has equipped for SUCH A TIME AS THIS and those who will not.
The first business principle Churches can learn from the business sector is WHO the real competition is.
Once identified, our goal in assessing the company is not to discover how we can copy them. We look for a weakness and strategize on how to capitalize on it. That could look like:
- providing better customer service
- meeting a need they are not providing
- establishing a service/product for a niche the competition is not serving
Much of the Church has had it wrong. Other churches and ministers are NOT your competition. Your competition is the Devil! He is after souls and God is after souls. As Christian leaders and ministers, we are to partner with God so He can work through us to accomplish His will that no soul would perish (2 Peter 3:9).
Therefore, these individuals God has been spending YEARS developing through the Holy Spirit in their homes and areas of influence, are not the Church house’s competition.
They are the very ones God has sent as an answer to your and your congregation’s prayers. In fact, more than likely, the local church as well as other apostles, prophets, teachers, preachers, and evangelists have been used by God to disciple these individuals up to a certain point. Unfortunately, I have watched in many different ministries a fear that comes over the leadership of anyone who starts displaying influence, fresh revelation, etc. They are quickly seen as a threat:
- The congregation may like them better
- They may try to take my congregation
- They will outshine me
That is not God, my friends. That is the Enemy. Jesus and the disciples did outshine the religious scholars of the day because they met people’s needs, spoke in a way they had not heard before, looked different, etc. The Church leaders viewed them as a threat and tried on many occasions to disqualify them. If we do not learn from the mistakes the religious leaders in the scriptures made, we inherently will repeat them.
In business, successful leaders intentionally go after those with influence, charisma, more knowledge, etc. because they understand an organization is only as strong as their weakest link. Sure, the individual may learn from the company and go start another business one day. However, that one individual has aided in expanding your company with new ideas, bringing in customers you would have never had, and establishing your company as one of expertise in your industry. That is worth the risk to the company owner.
It is an exciting time for Believers.
To the ones who have been trained and equipped for SUCH A TIME AS THIS, you are being called to the frontlines now. It is time for you to take your position and birth the vision God has entrusted to you so His will to inhabit and set America ablaze with the Holy Spirit, can be accomplished.
There are those such as Sean Feucht who God has sent before you. He has ministered throughout the United States with a breaker anointing thru praise and worship. God has had intercessors throughout the church houses and communities in America praying in this great inhabitation. Prophets have been declaring REVIVAL across America. Now it’s your time! If your church will not allow you to do it under their proverbial tent, then you know that is not where God is choosing or being allowed to birth it; a door will open. A solution will come to you through a dream, in the midnight hour. Be careful trying to make what God wants to do look a certain way. One of the reasons God chose you is because you don’t know what it’s supposed to look like, therefore allowing the Holy Spirit to do it His way.
To the church leaders: support, encourage, fast, pray and make a place for these God has purposed. They are the very ones God has imparted the answers and solutions to what you have been praying and seeking God concerning your ministry and region. God will use them to usher in repentance through prophetic teachings, healings, deliverances, and freedom to your communities in ways never experienced.
To all Believers, I charge you not to put God in a religious box. Allow Him to operate through who and how He chooses. He IS God. Not us. We need to remember Jesus stated, in the Kingdom, there is no male/female, Jew/Gentile, young/old, rich/poor. Our mandate is not to decide if someone is qualified based on religious traditions and misguided interpretations of scripture. It is to go into the World, telling people to keep turning away from their sins and return to God, for Heaven’s Kingdom realm is close enough to touch (Matt. 4:17). As Believers, we need to ask God to awaken us to what He is doing, who He is using, then partner with them to see God’s will accomplished in the greatest outpouring of God’s presence ever seen in America.
Bio of Brandy J. Flanagan
Brandy is an accomplished entrepreneur, consultant, author, keynote speaker, and community servant. She is a dynamic speaker who also writes on various topics of faith, family, and business. Audiences love her transparency and provoking messages. Brandy has guest blogged as well as been interviewed on selective podcast shows in the business and faith realm. In 2019, she published her first book MAKE BUSINESS FUN AGAIN: LIGHTBULB MOMENTS FROM A REAL ENTREPRENUER helping frustrated small-business owners take back control of their family, business, and life again. Brandy along with her husband, Scott, and five children live in the Pineywoods of East Texas where they faithfully attend Church and serve their community.
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