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I believe the Lord is raising up a prophetic Caleb anointing that is intended to break fear and intimidation off the Body of Christ.

By Larry Sparks

Is the “Seven Mountain Mandate” defective and obsolete? Are there additional components to the “Seven Mountains” message? Are there other mountains that we are missing?

I believe this portion of Scripture (Numbers 13) is instructional and timely for us to consider today when it comes to the glaring question of: why aren't we seeing more spheres of influence impacted and transformed by the Kingdom of God?

The “Seven Mountain” message is not defective in the same way the promise of God for Israel to “occupy the land of Canaan” was not defective. While many are cowering away from culture, the Lord is raising up prophetic Caleb voices like He did among the twelve spies of Israel who proclaim: “Let us occupy the land! We are tell able to overcome!”

Consider thought leader, Dr. Lance Wallnau. I believe he carries a prophetic “Caleb voice” in this hour, championing the Church to be the transformational Ekklesia that Jesus envisioned. I was speaking with Lance recently and I wholeheartedly believe the wisdom and revelation God has entrusted to him for over a decade is more timely than ever. There's nothing defective with the “Seven Mountain” mandate; it simply requires anointed and willing vessels to run towards the challenge. Many Believers live in fear of what's on the other side of this assignment – world systems that are in many cases grossly under the influence of darkness. Yes, the darkness is dark and intimidating.

But doesn't Scripture speak of a glory that would rise upon us, even in the midst of GROSS, deep darkness (Isa. 60:1-3)? Doesn't Jesus actually instruct us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, which implies He is looking for a people that have a measurable, visible impact on society around them? Salt and light impact what they are applied to (see Matt. 5:13-16).

I believe the Lord is raising up a prophetic Caleb anointing that is intended to break fear and intimidation off the Body of Christ. I prophesy even now that those who are most “under the influence” of the Spirit of God are those called to have the most influence in their spheres of influence. After all, when those under His influence have the most influence, by default the Kingdom is having influence and that fulfills the apostolic prayer of Jesus: “Kingdom of God, come; will of God, be done” (see Matt. 6:10)!

Grapes, Milk, and Honey: Settling for a Touch When Transformation is Available!

“At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, ‘We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.'” (Num. 13:25-28)

I prophesy the Lord is calling us to shift from simply enjoying the grapes of renewal and talking about the milk and honey of personal blessing, to taking the land.

For those of the more charismatic persuasion, we rightly enjoy the grapes or “new wine” of Holy Spirit outpouring in our revival gatherings, conferences and events. For more mainline evangelicals, we enjoy the thrill of “milk and honey” – in other words, learning how to implement Biblical principles to survive and thrive in life.

Please hear my heart on this: none of these things are negative. But it's vital that we know they are not the end result. Revival meetings, as necessary as they are, are not the end. Manifestations of the Spirit's power where people fall, shake, tremble, laugh and experience God are non-negotiable and should be part of our normal Christian lives, but they are not the end. Likewise, Bible-based instruction on how to live victoriously, have a happy family, and enjoy the blessed life are good, but they are not the end.

What's “the end”? Kingdom come. It's not about what I want, it's about what God wants, and I have been afforded the ultimate source of satisfaction, infinitely superior to any blessing or benefit God could give me. The blessings are side items (albeit, nice and appreciated ones), compared to the grand fulfillment of participating in the in-breaking of God's Kingdom into the spheres of influence we have been uniquely gifted for and called to. What could be more pleasurable than seeing earth look more like Heaven, to see the nature and character of the King reflected visibly in our places of assignments and mountains of influence? (Photo via Wikipedia)

You've Been Called to Occupy Land!

What's keeping Holy Spirit-filled people out of these “mountains”? The same thing that caused ten out of twelve spies to tremble at the thought of occupying the land God had promised them: fear. And by the way, I believe God has promised US land. All you need to do is meditate on the promise of Psalm 2:8, the commission of Matthew 28:19-20, and the empowerment of Acts 2:17.

The Promise: In the prophetic exchange between God the Father and God the Son, He promises to give His Son, Jesus, the nations.

“Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your heritage, and the ends of the earth Your possession.” (Psalm 2:8)

The Commission: Jesus, recognizing that the Father has given Him the nations as His inheritance, actually commissions us – His disciples – to accomplish the task of discipling nations and thus, fulfilling the the promise of Psalm 2.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

The Empowerment: This commissioning can only be fulfilled through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and I believe, even in this prophetic decree of Holy Spirit empowerment, God makes it clear that His redemptive vision and desire is for nothing short of “all flesh”.

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh…'” (Acts 2:17). This is your calling and assignment! Why do we run away from the mountains?

Could it be that we are not witnessing the complete fulfillment of Acts 2:17 because we are not running towards “all flesh”? This prophesied outpouring was not aimed at “all Church” or even “all Charismatics.” Remember God's target demographic: all flesh!

What's Preventing Us from Occupying the Land?

“However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” (Num. 13:25-29)

The ten spies give us the answer right here: fear and intimidation. Ten of the twelve spies were under the influence of fear, as evidenced in their response. They focused on the perceived strength of the opposition. It was as though God was completely removed from their perspective.

I believe we look at spheres of influence that are under the influence of darkness and rather than running towards them, we run away. We retreat. As a result, the seven mountains remain undiscipled, not because of a faulty concept, but because we continue to move inward instead out outward. To the degree that the Church continues to create a subculture, we will continue to watch the spheres of government, business, arts, media and entertainment, education and others crumble under the influence of the devil. Because believe you me, mountains will be occupied. Spheres of influence will be seized either way – if not by those under the influence of the Spirit, then those under the influence of the “god of this age”.

Do we really believe that “…He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4)? I believe the test of our belief will be the level of our societal engagement.

Prophetic Decrees Empowering You to Fulfill Your Assignment!

I prophesy the Lord is raising up a Caleb spirit in this hour that silences fear and confronts apathy.

In fact, as I was sharing this prophetic word via video, I had a supernatural sense that Caleb, operating from the cloud of witnesses in Heaven, was literally summoning this present generation on earth to advance and take ground! If Caleb could speak to us today, I sense he might say something like: “You have no excuse! You have an advantage I didn't have. Sure, you see the blessing we had of the cloud by day and the fire by night. That was amazing. But that same cloud and fire is inside of you! You have an advantage. What you walk in is far superior than what we had… and what we had was glorious!”

I prophesy the Lord is awakening His people to the superior glory that resides within them. I believe 2 Corinthians 3 is a key portion of Scripture in this hour. Yes, to meditate and reflect on, but also, to energizes us for the assignment that God has for us to fulfill. (Photo via Wikipedia)

I prophesy: an outward momentum in the Body of Christ. Since 99% of those who attend local churches week after week are not called to “full-time ministry” but rather, some kind of job, trade, or place of influence in the Seven Mountains, I believe the Lord is shifting the wineskin of Church. The Church will start receiving strategies on how to empower everyday, Holy Spirit-filled people to “go out” and carry God into the places they have been assigned to.

I prophesy: that local churches open their spiritual doors, wide open, to the move of the Holy Spirit – on His terms, not theirs. It will only be in the environment of radical encounter with the fire of God where reformers will be birthed.

I prophesy: that in these radical, supernatural, transformational encounters with the fire of God, these reformers in the making would hear the voice that speaks out of the fire, and like with Moses at the burning bush, calls them to bring people groups and systems out of the captivity of darkness.

I sense that the prophetic words of Caleb will thunder in this hour from the Spirit of God Himself. I see this voice literally releasing a breaker anointing that casts out fear and releases supernatural encouragement, declaring: “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it!” (Num. 13:30).

Larry Sparks is publisher for Destiny Image, a Spirit-filled publishing house pioneered by Don Nori Sr. in 1983 with a mandate to publish the prophets. Larry is fueled by a vision to help the church community create space for the Holy Spirit to move in freedom, power and revival fire, providing every Christian with an opportunity to have a life-changing encounter in the presence of God. In addition to publishing, Larry is a regular contributor to Charisma Magazine, he conducts seminars on revival, hosts regional Renewing South Florida gatherings, and has been featured on Sid Roth's It's Supernatural, TBN, CBN, the Elijah List, and Cornerstone TV. He earned a Master of Divinity from Regent University and enjoys life in Texas with his beautiful wife and beloved daughter.

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