Take your Place in the Race
In worship today, I saw a vision of an older man running the last bit of his leg of the relay, holding a baton. The finish line was not far away but there was space for one more relay runner to complete the race for the team. In the crowd there were also older people standing watching the race, holding batons and younger people without batons. The older people thought that their time of running for the purposes of God were now over because of their age. Then a younger person appeared on the race track and laid hold of the baton which the older man was running with and for a brief moment they were connected by the baton as they both held onto it together, before the older man let go and his part in the race was over.
I felt the Lord saying that there was a trans-generational handover of the batons of Kingdom interests at present but some of the older generation of Believers are just standing watching others run, even though there is a baton in their hands. To them, the Lord would say, "if the baton is still in your hand and you have not passed it on to anyone, then get back in the race. I need all hands on deck in this hour. There is still time to run and to hand over what is in your heart to the next generation. Age is no barrier to Me! Put your running shoes on!" To the older ones running the race with all their heart, your part in the race is almost over. Hold out the baton in a way that someone from the younger generation may lay hold of it, or the work you have done for the kingdom will be laid to rest with you. There is still another short leg of the race to be run and much can be accomplished in this short space of time if you will link with the younger generation and run in such a way as to safely hand over the portion of Kingdom interests you have been stewarding. I felt the Lord say to the young people: Do not run aimlessly or just stand there on the sidelines watching others run. Look for an older runner with the baton of a Kingdom interest in their hand and align yourself with them in such a way as to lay hold of the baton that they carry. Let there be a Kingdom handover of precious plans and purposes for the sake of the Gospel and learn from those who have run in this area before you. Seize hold of the opportunity for exponential increase of opportunity and anointing in this trans-generational handover, for we walk in the times of the Elisha’s receiving the Elijah’s mantles and a double portion of the power and help of Heaven is at your disposal to finish the race in this hour, if only there would be a joining together and a yoking into the harness for Kingdom purposes which are already established and being carried out in the earth. You may run with your own style but you will carry the Divinely appointed and anointed purposes of Heaven to completion as you take over the carrying of the baton from those who have gone before.
I felt the Lord stressing that now is not the time to remain inactive on the sidelines. All those holding batons should be running with all their hearts, not watching. And all those who do not have batons need to seek the Lord's mind for a particular baton to lay hold of and find the person running with that particular Kingdom interest. There is no time to waste. We are in a crucial handover period. Do not let it go to waste.
Finally, as I finished recording this vision, I heard a cry go out over the racetrack scene. It was a cry of desperation, a cry encapsulating all the zeal and passion that Jesus has for His Father’s will to be fully done in the earth in our day. It was a cry that seemed to use all the air in His lungs as He yelled, “ Where are the final runners who will complete the race for Us? Where are those who will step in and carry the batons of Heaven’s purposes safely to the finish line? Come! It is time!”
Then I was given a scripture which points to the fact that we are in the 11th hour as far as Heaven's purposes are concerned. Laborers are needed:
Mat 20:6 And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day? Mat 20:7 They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is just.