Being a Good Steward of Anointing

Aaron Leatherdale - Rapper
Follow Aaron on Twitter: aleatherdale
Website & personal blog: aaronleatherdale.org
Aaron grew up in Prince George, BC, Canada and moved to IHOP in May 2007. His passion and desire is to serve the Lord through prayer and fasting and to preach the love of Christ to the nations of the earth.
 

Music is such a powerful way to deliver a message. I like rapping because it's a style of music where you can say a lot of information or share a whole testimony in a short amount of time. Most of my life I've been a “closet rapper” basically just rapping at home or with a friend or 2. It's just been over the last year that I've been doing it in a public way both in the prayer room and also through the internet. Since the Lord opened up a door for me to do it in a more full-time way, I've been really stirred to grow in excellence and anointing.

For me, the main reason I rap is to minister to the Lord in the prayer room. For some people it might be a foreign idea that rap can be ministry to the Lord but for me it's a way to express worship to God and to intercede. My heart is moved when I write rhymes and I know God's heart is moved, too. My desire is to grow in anointing as I minster to God each time I rap. Ministry to people through the music can be really powerful but, for me, the highest calling is to just rap for God alone. If the opportunity ever opened up for me to travel all over the world doing rap shows I would have to think long and hard about that because it could potentially distract me from my main ministry – standing before God and serving Him in priestly ministry. For me, rapping in the house of prayer is not a launching pad into something bigger and better...it's the greatest ministry that exists and it's what makes my heart  most alive.

Another reason I'm stirred to rap is because of my desire to see anointed preaching. The Bible talks a lot about preaching that convicts people's hearts. Before I started rapping in the prayer room I had been praying on an almost daily basis in my private prayer life for over 2 years for anointed singers and preachers to be raised up. I was so gripped by it. It was one of my favorite prayers but I had no idea that I would actually be part of the answer to my own prayer. I still pray regularly for preachers who speak with conviction and I know this is only the beginning of what God is going to do with me and others.

The book of Acts has some of the most inspiring and prayer-fueling accounts of preachers who delivered a simple message and God put amazing power on their words. The thing about anointed preaching is that it produces a response in the hearts of those who hear the message. In Acts 2 when Peter preached he delivered a simple message. He recounted the Jewish genealogy which everyone already knew. His message didn't really have any profound revelation or unique insight in it. It was just a normal message but the Spirit of God breathed on it and the conviction was strong. The same thing happened to Stephen. He gave a message similar in content and power was released. When Peter preached in Acts 2 the Bible says the hearers were “cut to the heart” and they repented. In Acts 7 (Stephen's sermon) the hearers of the message were also “cut to the heart” (verse 54) but instead of repenting they were filled with rage and killed Stephen. So the same thing happened in both instances. Everyone was cut to the heart but not everyone responded the same way – some hardened their hearts and some were softened. This is what I want. I want to deliver a simple message and see the conviction of God break out. I've experienced this to an extent - nowhere near the level of the Bible - but powerful nonetheless. I got an email from a lady who watched a rap I did in the prayer room about human trafficking. She said when she heard the rap she was eating breakfast with her husband and they both started to weep uncontrollably and cry out for justice for trafficked victims. I was surprised because I thought, “Wow, the rap is not that amazing that it would bring someone to tears...it's just an average rap with average skill level”. But then I realized that it was the Spirit of God breathing on my words moving their hearts. A few days after this happened I got a message from someone who I've never met. He listened to my raps and sent me a message hurling profane insults at me, telling me how horrible my raps were and that he wanted to fight me if he ever saw me. I was so puzzled because I've never met the guy and I thought, “Who goes through the trouble to track down a total stranger just to tell him his music sucks and threaten him?”. But I think this was God's Spirit pricking his heart and he was angry about it. He obviously hates the light and the Holy Spirit breathing on the lyrics provoked him. I want to see more of this anointing of the Spirt released through the rapping that I do. I'm contending for it in a major way.

The thing about preaching with power is it's totally not about what you say. Of course, I want to show due diligence in preparation, study the Bible and speak a message that is theologically accurate but, if God anoints a word, hearts will be struck. I've read stories of the evangelist Charles Finney in the 1800s who would ride a train through the countryside and farmers in their fields near the railroad would fall to their knees under the conviction of God. He would go into a factory to preach and before they could even shut down the machines, before he said one word, many people were in tears crying out for salvation. I'm asking God for this kind of power on my own words as well as contending for many others in the house of prayer (singers and preachers) to experience this. My friend Gregory, a fellow missionary and rapper with me in the house of prayer says "Plenty of rappers can preach a sermon, but how many are willing to release a burden?"

There are a few things I'm doing to grow and be faithful with this ministry. By far the most important thing is having a prayer life, fasting and reading the Bible. I think growing in intimacy with God and hearing His heart comes way before writing songs, practicing rapping or any of that. Of course you want to be excellent at your trade but if you don't have a vibrant relationship with God and your heart is not moved by His presence, you have nothing. Think about David in the Bible. I'm sure there were many skilled musicians in Israel during the reign of King Saul but when David played the evil spirits were driven out. Power was released because he had cultivated that time with God. Also, staying connected to God is important for humility because when you're rapping on a stage pride can creep in. There is a huge arena for pride with rapping for a number of reasons. There's a whole carnal spirit behind a lot of the hip hop culture because a lot of rap is “attention – grabbing”: Bragging about your lyrical skills, your money, your fame, etc. or “battle rapping” which has a harsh spirit tearing down your opponents.

Staying in the secret place and keeping my eyes on Jesus is my main goal in life and the main way I seek to steward the anointing and be faithful with the gifts God has given me related to music. Also, practice. I try to listen to rap music when I can (Christian stuff, mainly) and examine their flows to glean from them and learn what I can. The best rappers are generally non-Christian and there is a lot that can be learned from these guys related to the technical aspects of rapping but it's usually so perverse I try to steer clear for the most part. I try to get together with other rappers for sessions where we write and freestyle. That helps to get the inspiration flowing because creating raps is hard work and it's easy to get writer's block. I try to set aside regular times to write. Having good instrumental tracks to write over is super helpful so I've built up a library of over 3000 beats. I can just throw one on and start writing a rap. Usually I get an idea of what I want to write a verse about and I have the whole concept in my mind before I pick up a pen. I tackle it like an essay. I prepare an outline (introduction, body, closing), then I do a rough draft, then a final copy. Sometimes it takes days or even weeks to get a verse just how I want it. It's worth it, though, because once a rap is written it last for a lifetime. 

© 2011 Aaron Leatherdale