Territory (8) Stumbling Block

Dependence on professional pastor-leaderships operating through big church-meetings is a serious obstacle to the Kingdom of God.

• I cannot see professional pastors willingly stepping down from their role. They have invested so much time and energy into their church that they believe it cannot survive without them. They believe that they are essential for the advance of the church within their city.

• I cannot see the church willingly giving up their big Sunday meetings because they have invested too much in their church buildings. Their ability to recover the wealth invested in these buildings is limited because these buildings have few other uses. Consequently, the market for unneeded church buildings is very small.

Unfortunately, this prevents them from taking spiritual control of territory for Jesus. It leaves him as a king without territory.

New Wineskin
Some prophetic people have announced that God is giving a new wineskin to his people. The coming of new wineskin must significantly change two things.

• The role and structure of the leaders.
• The way that members of the body relate to each other.

They will need to form together in a way that will enable the Holy Spirit to expand the territory where Jesus is King.

I don’t know what people think when they hear a word that God wants to bring in a new wineskin. I presume they think that their church might change a little, but most other churches will have to change more to be like theirs.

I presume that most pastors assume that they will lead the transition into the new wineskin, but if they established and shaped the old wineskin, it hard to see how that could happen.

I presume that most people in ministry assume that their role will be the same or enhanced in the new wineskin. But that cannot be true, because then the wineskin would not be new.

God will give them an opportunity to get with his program, but most will not be able to change. As usual, he will have to rely on a remnant to fulfil his strategy. He needs numerous groups of three or four people/families coming together in strategic places across the edge of the city. From there, he can spread out, working with people who come to faith, but do not have an attachment to the priest/temple paradigm. Together, they can be led by the Spirit into a new wineskin.

God can use people who are discouraged and disaffected, provided they are filled with his Spirit. But they must not stand around grumbling and moaning, but should get together with others who balance their giftings and learn to love one another. They should seek out the place where the Holy Spirit wants them to begin.

David began building his army when people who were in distress, or in debt or disaffected gathered with him in the Cave of Adullum (1 Sam 22:1-2). They were not noticed, because they seemed trivial, but they multiplied into a mighty army that took the land for David. The same applies in the modern world. Those who are distressed and disaffected should gather in places where they will not be noticed. That is how God builds a remnant.