There are many spheres of influence that shape and change culture and society throughout the world. Of these, seven have developed into major centers of influence. Whoever controls these “mountains” of influence shape and control what takes place throughout entire nations, continents, and even the world.

In 1975, Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, and Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission, met for lunch. The night before, God revealed to them both that “If we are to impact any nation for Jesus Christ, then we would have to affect the seven spheres of society that are it’s foundational pillars. These seven mountains are family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business and government.” These institutions are the mind-molders of society. In these serious and critical times we live it is imperative that Christians take each of these mountains for the Kingdom of God. We must answer His call to be salt and light in our culture. Influence comes from involvement and involvement demands commitment which requires time. God is calling His children to take dominion over each of these spheres of influence.

Over the past several decades believers in Christ have come to realize that God has called them into ever widening spheres of ministry, having specifically trained and equipped them to serve Him in our educational Institutions, our media and communications systems, including print, radio, television, the Internet, art, athletics, entertainment, business, science, technology, and civil government at all levels, federal, state & local.

If America is to be restored as a nation “Under God,” we must prayerfully and intentionally work toward honoring His Name in all Seven Mountains. In First Timothy 2:1-4, Paul states, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Critical to the fulfillment of the Great Commission throughout the world is for God to develop leaders in each of these Seven Mountains who would be used to exalt Jesus Christ, and proclaim the Gospel freely to the Glory of God.

In order to take these mountains we need to be fully surrendered to the will of God in that area of our lives. The enemy cannot be defeated from our culture if he has a stronghold within us. For the stronghold to be pulled down in our culture, we first have to be set free.

2 Corinthians 10:3 It is true that I am an ordinary, weak human being, but I don't use human plans and methods to win my battles. 4 I use God's mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil's strongholds. 5 These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him. With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God and change them into men whose hearts' desire is obedience to Christ. 6 I will use these weapons against every rebel who remains after I have first used them on you yourselves and you surrender to Christ.

God’s children have become friends of the world. James 4:4 Don't you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can't be a friend of God. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For this reason the church has no influence (power) in our society to be the salt and light the Word of God calls us to be. We have become like the world in which we live. The Church needs to cleansed of the love of this world to regain the dominion of the Kingdom of God in our society. We have a generation in our midst that desperately needs to see the power of our God in their lives. It starts with you and me as His children to allow God to set us free from our sin.

It cannot be overstated that 2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. We need change (repentance). Yet the change we need will not come from Washington or Wall Street. It must come from God. It must begin with God's people praying to Him for the change He requires; the change within our hearts. The heart of every problem is a problem of the heart.

Let us take back the family mountain first. Each of us is in a family of some kind. Dads as the servant-leader get a towel and basin. Humble yourselves and wash the dust of this world off your family’s feet and then in the greatest act of humility let them wash your feet. Mom’s I realize you might be the spiritual authority in your family at this time. In those cases you be the one to wash every ones feet first.

Last week I said, “Establish a Family Alter.” Let us pray all the worlds strongholds down in our lives and then pull them down in our society. Don’t let pride, the traditions of man, or the love of this world keep you from responding to this request. Look if we keep doing what we are doing we are going to keep getting the same old thing. Our Nation is in a desperate condition and we need to be desperate for God for our country. It’s time to turn back to the Word of God and do the things they did. Jesus washed feet and He commanded us to do likewise. Jesus turned the world up-side down and so did the first church. Two thousand years later it’s time to turn the world up-side down again for the cause of Christ Jesus. Amen