All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household. Philippians 4:22 NKJV

Things don’t ‘just happen.’ They happen because someone makes them happen. As it is true in our individual lives, so it is with the transformation of nations! Nations are made up of people, and people are influenced and led by leaders. The Church has failed to think strategically about nation transformation. We set up our crusades in the marketplace, thinking we will impact the community, but we fail repeatedly. Why? Leaders don’t go to the marketplace. If anything, they send someone on their behalf. We think we can change the nation from the ground up. Not so! We must reach the nation from the top down, as well as from the ground up. We will see that this approach was taken over and over by the early Church…

A leader is simply someone who has followers, who has influence over others.

There are two types of leaders: positional or formal, and informal or natural. A positional leader gains his authority from the organizational position he occupies. A natural leader gains his authority by the free will acceptance of others. A natural leader says, “I’m going fishing!” His followers say, “Hey, fishing sounds like fun! Let’s go!” A positional leader may not be a natural leader, which makes following them something that is forced or out of obligation. But when you have a positional leader who is also a natural leader, you have one dynamic individual.

Leaders can be powerful individuals, but they also can have great needs because of very weak and disintegrating personal lives. Many times they have sacrificed all for their leadership, so their marriages and families are ruined. Often a charismatic personality props up a weak and damaged life that will surely end in failure without the saving of their souls. Even the greatest among us must be born again and filled with the Spirit of God!

FOUR EXAMPLES

A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. Proverbs 18:16 NKJV

In our first example, we will see how two sentences spoken by a simple, Spirit filled saint changed the life of a great leader and affected the destinies of two nations.

Please read 2 Kings 5:1-19.

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.

18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. 2 Kings 5:1-19 KJV_

We need a bigger vision of the gift of prophecy, beyond the walls of our churches. Prophecy entails all that is communicated in any realm. Words uttered by the gift of prophecy have the anointing to impart earth-shaking faith. The words of this dear saint moved the hearts of two kings, plus a military commander, Naaman, and the prophet Elisha. You can do the same thing! The key to reaching the hearts of leaders is to speak to them by the Spirit of God. Let them hear from God!

You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. Luke 21:12-16 NKJV

Please also see John 14:26, Mark 13:11, 12, and 1 Corinthians 14:3.

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:26 KJV

11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Mark 13:11 KJV

3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 1 Cor 14:3 KJV

In our second example, a man of God wins a natural leader by demonstrating the power of God. This changes a whole city!

Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Acts 8:13 NKJV

Please read Acts 8:5-13.

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

8 And there was great joy in that city.

9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Acts 8:5-13 KJV

Simon was an informal or natural leader, with a talent for promoting himself using witchcraft. Everybody listened to this guy! Simon could be compared to a modern social media influencer. I have found that when people are hungry for spiritual things, even witchcraft and things of the occult, what they are truly hungry for is the living God. I could use my own life as an example. This is why Philip got such a reception in Samaria! He spoke, and demonstrated the resurrected Christ, and the people found the true Source of their hunger. God does not meet you at the point of your need. He meets you when you are hungry!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 NKJV

In our third example, we will see that the devil seeks to influence positional leaders, but the power of God crushes him.

Please read Acts 13: 6 -12.

6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:

7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Acts 13:6-12 KJV

Paul spoke a word of prophecy, not to the proconsul, but to the false prophet, a Jew named Barjesus. This prophecy had such an effect that the false prophet was shut down, becoming ineffective (by God’s mercy he apparently lived), and the proconsul believed the word of God spoken by Barnabas and Paul.

This is the key – prophesy to, or in front of, great leaders when God brings you into their presence. Your gift will make room for you! Look into your heart and speak the word that the Spirit has put there. It seems that most religious people, when they come into the presence of great leaders, have their hands out, looking for money. These men and women hate this practice! You are not there to receive…YOU ARE THERE TO GIVE!

I watched a documentary of a famous American baseball player, and what he shared about strangers was insightful. He shared “Whenever I see someone new coming around, I think ‘What does this dude want? What does he want from me?’” Do you see how you are perceived? Walls go up because of past experiences. You must walk in love and give so that the walls come down, and true ministry can happen.

Our leaders must repent of having any other agenda than the pure love of Christ when they are brought before great men and women. You are there to represent Him in word and power, not to be a beggar for the kingdom of God. The simple, pure-hearted love of God will empower you to reach the heart of that great one! Leaders naturally evaluate character, and they do it instantly. They will see you as a deceiver if you come with anything other than the pure love of Christ. They will be cordial to you, but they will dismiss you, if they see you have a worthless character, and nothing for them. Be who God has made you to be!

In our fourth example, we will see that the Gospel reached the very pinnacles of political power.

Please read Philippians 1:12 -18.

12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Phil 1:12-18 KJV

All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household. Philippians 4:22 NKJV

Caesar’s household may have been his homeborn slaves, or it may have been his sons and daughters. You can bet that the saints reached out the big fellow himself! Paul had won many of the palace guard who had watched him. They then in turn witnessed to those around them, and the whole household of the emperor was filled with the gospel, like leaven in a loaf of bread. Hallelujah!

We could have looked at Peter with Cornelius in Acts Ten, or Paul’s friends, the Asiarchs, the chief of Asia in Acts Nineteen, or Paul before Agrippa, but you get the picture. They reached out to leaders, and won them…

CONCLUSIONS

A man’s gift will make room for him and bring him before great men. I would suggest that you identify and target twenty leaders in your community, state and nation. Look for leaders in all categories of life, even religious leaders of other religions. Organize prayer for them and pray for them yourself. Make a plan and go meet them. Do so with the pure love of Christ! When you can, look them in the eye and speak the words God gives you. Follow through with them and make a friend. Demonstrate the power of God. You can transform nations of people very quickly by reaching those who lead them!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…