Vision – we dream of
ICCC sounds an urgent call to those with eyes to see and ears to hear the call of the times, to cease striving and learn to rely fully on the Lord, as the key for bless- ing and to rise victoriously above the encroaching tide. There is only one way to get access to the Kingdom of God:
PRIORITIES:
1. INTIMACY WITH THE LORD
2. PURITY IN LIFE
3. UNITY AND FELLOWSHIP IN THE LIGHT
4. BY FAITH EXPECTING THE POWER FROM THE LORD
READY TO STAND IN THE GAP FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST, ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE
The pressures on people in business and in the work- ing life are increasing daily. Rapid and disruptive change, coupled with greed, fear and corruption is causing instability, turmoil, and chaos. Professional excellence and integrity are both essential. However these alone are not enough to ensure survival, let alone success in the increasing global storms we are facing. This is just the beginning. We need to be led by the Holy Spirit, catch the wind for the next season and implement our individual and corporate calling in the area of business and working life, possessing the Land, eating its fruits and being ready to fight the good fight, through the Spirit by faith!
ICCC calls for a growing, worldwide body of believ- ers to be raised up in the business and working life: men and women, young and old, who have died to self and are living in a new dimension of resurrec- tion life, leading fruitful, Holy Spirit-led working lives and businesses, serving society and one another, and experiencing a manifestation of the Kingdom of God.
At the heart of the vision of ICCC is God’s desire to extend His loving rule and care, through His church, into the workplaces and businesses of the world. This requires a people who will seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and then experience the reality of goals, strategies and plans becoming an outward manifestation of an inward walk of faith..
They know God, to hear His voice, to listen for His counsel, and to obey His instructions. It is motivated by love, characterised by rest and results in the transforma- tion of individuals, businesses, communities and nations.
At the time of Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus commanded two of his disciples to go ahead of Him into the village where they would nd a donkey and her foal tied to a stake. He instructed them: “release them and bring them to me. The Lord has need of them.” (MATT 21:2-3).
ICCC Founder, J Gunnar Olson, likens the business or working life to that of a donkey, a traditional beast of burden. The stake symbolizes bondage and lack of free- dom, resulting from the curse of sin. Work came under that curse when man fell into sin in the Garden of Eden and was forced to work by the sweat of his brow. But, praise God, Christ has redeemed us totally from the curse through the cross.
He has set us free!
And in the same way that the Lord sent word to those looking after a donkey in Jerusalem, so He is speaking a word through ICCC to the Christian business world and working life to- day: “release the donkey (your work or your company) the Lord has need of it!”
The world and the church are waiting for a new free- dom. People working in rest and manifesting the char- acter and power of God in daily life under the leading of the Holy Spirit will create a transformed working life, resulting in a coming reformation and a new theology of work.
And it also gives us clear explanation of our time. In the end time, the battle eld will be in the area of business and working life. This means a reformation starting at work!
The glorious truth is “that God was in Christ reconcil- ing the whole world to Himself” (2 COR. 5:19). Gunnar says: “The demand of the Kingdom of God is that everything is to be initiated by God. Our calling is therefore to live and work through the Spirit, by faith in God. This requires a renewed mind, understanding God’s purposes, and the ability to hear what God is saying. As we act in obedience to God’s word, empowered by the Holy Spirit, our acts become an outward manifestation of an inward walk of faith, as a testimony to the world and to the principalities and powers, that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.”
Faith in God is thus the essence for our life and our professional calling. Success is not measured in econom- ic terms but in the manifest presence of God and His Kingdom.
The prophecy given to J.Gunnar Olson (see page 1) on the night before ICCC was born, included reference to “great trees and many smaller trees and bushes… full of fruit and berries containing great power”. A great tree speaks to us of someone who is rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, who hears and obeys the voice of God, and experiences His supernatural power in their area of calling and service. The fruit produced by each tree will be different. For some it will mean a successful business, employing people and releasing finances. For others, a strategic position of influence in society, or perhaps a life overflowing with prayerful wisdom and insight. With this good fruit, a great tree will make a difference in the world. We have already seen the first examples of these “great trees” coming forth. Now is the time for many more to be raised up!
Our calling therefore, as a “people under God”, is dis- qualified unless what is being manifest comes from God, is perceived in the Spirit, and acted upon by faith in God. He makes a claim on the marketplace, just as He made a claim on the whole creation through the call of Abraham, leading to the redemption of Christ. It is all about God. It’s not about us, or our work, or our ministry. It’s all about His manifest presence here in time and space.
This means that ICCC must be vision and message driven rather then project and action driven. We must go from doing His will, into a position of being, living and manifesting His will!
“A worldwide people who, in their business and working lives, are experiencing the reality of goals, strategies, and plans becoming an outward manifestation of an in- ward walk of faith, leading to a glorious release of the Kingdom of God.”