Sacred Ancestry (Part Two)
Being the spiritual children of Abraham means that we have a unique inheritance-an inheritance that is rarely claimed in full.
In our last post, we talked about prosperity.
Today, we’ll look at the topic of platform. Each of the six parts of this blog series we’ll take a look at another aspect of our spiritual inheritance. [Tweet "When we look to our spiritual heritage, we will find a supernatural inheritance."]
Every person has a platform. Whether they realize it or not.
Most people can easily recognize the platform and influence of others while neglecting to see their own.
We see actors at the Emmys or Oscars using their platform to not only accept awards but speak to issues that they deeply care about. We see athletes using their platform for championing causes beyond their sport.
Just recently, we’ve seen how upset our nation can get when a professional athletes take a knee before the National Anthem.
In my city (Baltimore) people were outside burning their Raven’s jerseys and selling off their season tickets for pennies on the dollar. Why? They didn’t approve of how these players were using or in this case misusing their platform.
God entrusted a HUGE platform of influence to our spiritual father Abraham. His life would literally impact every other person on the planet for generations to come.
Here’s what God promised to him…
Genesis 12:2 NIV I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
God was saying to Abraham, my call and provision on your life will give you great credibility. But, I also want to give you tremendous visibility.
This dude influenced all monotheists for all time! Every Jew, Muslim, and Christian lay claim to their connection to this one patriarch! I would say that is a pretty influential platform!
Upon his death, Abraham’s burial site was visited by a line of people from all over the earth, streaming in for over a year, coming to pay homage to the man and the impact his life had on them. He was far from perfect but his platform helped shape human history.
God loves entrusting His kids with big things. He loves entrusting you and me with weighty blessings.
God wants His kids to shine and reflect His glory to the world around them. Often when this topic comes up in Christian circles we are quick to quote John the Baptist saying, “I must decrease so that He can increase.” (speaking of Jesus’ earthly ministry platform growing larger and more prominent than John’s.)
That is totally accurate.
Our platform is for His purpose, not our status.
God told Abraham that He would bless him and make his name great so that he would become a blessing to all nations.
When I became a Christian, I chose to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Jesus. The problem is that many of us have taken that call to extremes God never intended.
Jesus also said that He created us to let our light shine before all men that they may glorify our Father who is in heaven. And each light is put on its stand. God created a “stand”, a platform of influence for you & I to steward our light.
I get upset when my kids are “cleaning off their plate” after dinner and end up throwing away perfectly good food that should not be wasted. They throw out good things that do not belong in the trash.
I love how Bill Johnson says it, “We have to be careful not to crucify the resurrected man of the Spirit in the process of denying the old man of the flesh!”
I think many of us do the same thing with the influence God has entrusted on our lives.
We play it small-way too small.
In the name of being humble or godly, we shrink back. We step off our God-given stand. Some of us never even step up onto it. I know I've struggled with this many times.
Why should I blog? Why should I step out and start a business? Why should I write a book? What do I have to say that hasn't already been said?
The truth is that you don't have to do anything the best. Because when you do it, it's never been done quite that way before. We've all been born originals and should never die as copies.
We can often make people feel awkward when they compliment or recognize us. I'm as guilty as the next! But here is what I’ve learned “accept compliments, deflect glory!”
The influence we carry here on earth causes people to consider the special relationship we have with our Father in heaven.
God was not insecure about Abraham’s influence. He gave it to him. He would have been upset if he didn’t use it.
The sun doesn’t have a complex when people admire the moon. When we have a “Super Moon” it is truly something to behold. It happens during times when the moon is at its fullest stage and in closest proximity to earth in its orbit. Yet, the moon is only something spectacular to look at because it reflects the light of the sun. Our lives are the same way. We have light to shine from our stands because of Jesus’ glory and splendor.
We pray for God to make His face shine upon us. What did we think would be the result?
We shine. We glow. We reflect His light to those around us by just being us.
Let your light shine. Start a blog. Write a book. Record an album. Launch a business. Create something that activates the favor that’s already on your life.
Release something externally out of what you carry internally. It’s a part of your spiritual DNA and Kingdom family inheritance.
People will look at you. People will talk about you and even give you attention that is uncomfortable.
It’s ok, get over it and do your best to make sure they don’t have to squint to see the Jesus in you!
Coming up next in part three of our “Sacred Ancestry” blog series:
Blessing #1: Prosperity Blessing #2: Platform
Blessing #3: Protection In part three we will take a look at God’s divine protection over our lives.
If this post was helpful you will also enjoy 3 Reasons Why Understanding Your Platform Changes Everything.
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