Church Government and 5
Fold Ministry Gifts
The purpose of this chapter is to shake up our
thinking concerning ministry. This chapter is not exhaustive, it is simply
a challenge. We do not make claims to have all of the pieces to the puzzle
concerning ministry of church government. However there is a view of these
topics that is not commonly taught and this view can be seen in scripture.
When approaching topics like these it should also be said that we see
truth in a perfect sense that cannot be applied today as perfectly as we
desire. In other words, God has set forth a church government that should
operate like the early church, however we must also realize that the
church lacks the unity of faith that allows mature church government to
work. Since we have never witnessed the zeal, maturity, and love that
comprised the early ministry disciples, we cannot expect church government
to function like God intends it to – until we do grow up
and become unified in the faith.
The New Testament introduces us to two new
concepts that the Old Testament generations never experienced. Church
government and diverse ministry gifts! Let us look at the five
(number of grace) ministry gifts that Jesus gives to the church.
Eph 4:8-15
This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he
led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." It was he who
gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and
some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of
service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we
will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown
here and there by every wind of. (NIV)
Ø
What about those who do
not have 5-fold ministry gifts?
Keep in mind; there are those who have an
exclusive calling to the five-fold “gift ministry” and God calls
them to fulfill a constant role in the context of the gift.
However, there is no one in the body that is excluded from being a
minister. If you become mature in Jesus Christ – you will be a minister,
period. When you open your mouth at work, at home, or school, you are
ministering something. Proverbs has much to say about that which we
speak, it produces life or death; it produces gold or wood. To see what we
are talking about, observe how Paul teaches in Timothy and Titus about the
qualifications of bishops (Greek - superintendents) and deacons (ministry
servants); in a strict sense these two offices belong to these specific
callings and they refer to church government only, however in God’s
application we should all receive and walk in these sayings.
For example, even though the book of Titus is
called a “pastoral letter” or a letter for those in church government
ministry, its application excludes nobody. The entire body
should desire to fulfill the walk of integrity that the book of Titus
speaks of. Why was it written in a stricter sense to leadership in church
government? It is leadership that have the greatest opportunity to be an
example to the people, but that does not exclude those not
in leadership from learning these spiritual things from their own
relationship with God. THIS IS IMPORTANT IN UNDERSTANDING SCRIPTURES; we
must interpret with a “stricter or exclusive sense” and also with a
“lesser or inclusive sense” to hear what God is saying to us today,
for our maturity. If we do not learn to do this, the result is “that
particular scripture” will not be profitable in our manner of living –
it resides only in our head, which profits little.
When teaching this subject there is
overlapping truth. A superintendent (church government) can exhibit a
primary gift of being a shepherd (pastor) and a minor role in another
gifting such as being a prophet. Sometimes we see the opposite; the
superintendent (church government) has a primary gift of a prophet and he
has a more minor role as a shepherd (pastor). GOD BLENDS THE GIFTS OF
EPHESIANS AS HE WILLS!
True
Church Government
Wisdom dictates that in this subject we must
not put God in a box and say "this is a pastor" and "this
is a prophet" and if one does not match up with the described way of
what a prophet is and does, then he must not be a prophet. This type of
thinking will keep you in the dark about what God is doing concerning His
5-fold ministry gifts of ministry. To cause you to break out of the mentality
that the 5-fold ministry gifts of Ephesians are church government positions –
consider this. You can have a gift of a shepherd (pastor) and yet never be
called to church government as a superintendent or deacon of a church. In
other words you can have this gift and never be what we call in today’s
English a pastor/bishop or deacon of a church. If you were to have a
shepherd (pastor) gift you could function in that gift through writing,
traveling ministry, or any other way of expressing that gift that God
calls you to. However, we do have scriptures that say that
superintendents (bishops) have a gift of shepherding. Jesus is called in 1
Peter the superintendent (bishop) AND shepherd (pastor) of our heart -
thereby linking the two together; BUT THIS IS NOT EXCLUSIVE. The role of
feeding the flock and being overseers is given to elders in 1Peter.
The elders are church government and I see them as not separate in the
scriptures from superintendents and deacons but instead elders are
comprised of both superintendents (bishops) and deacons. The church has a
lot to learn about true church government and I see things returning to
the order that is witnessed in the days when Peter was an elder.
Our terminology has been confusing concerning
church government and ministry. I use the word superintendent instead of
the word bishop for good reason. The KJV uses the word “bishop” to
describe the church government position that in most churches is called
pastor (but pastor is simply a gift not an office). The Greek word for
bishop is more closely related to our English word “superintendent”.
What is important is what the word means to the general public, the
un-churched that we are trying to reach. What does the word bishop mean to
them? It is defined by years of what the Catholic Church has showed by
example. When they hear the word they think of religious garments and
rituals of the organization. Therefore this becomes the current definition
instead of the activity of superintending the house of God. What does the
word pastor mean to the public? Much of the time it is defined as
the head of a church that stands behind a pulpit as though he is the CEO
or president of that organization. In reality the word “pastor” is
translated shepherd every time except in Ephesians. Pastoring
is a gifting and not an office, position, activity or a head of a
church. We confuse the world with our titles and terminology. I am not
saying to abandon all titles and the terminology of pastor and bishop,
though God may require this of you at some time; I am saying we must
demonstrate to the world true church government by not intermingling gifts
with positions. Let us look at these matters in more detail in our next
section.
Acts 14:23
And when they had ordained them elders in every church,
and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they
believed.
We see that the pattern for church government
was to establish elders (plural) in every church. We never see the
language of one elder or the appointment of one
superintendent over a people. Problems occur in our methodology in
starting churches; for example, today’s church will sometimes have one
man that starts a church and acquires debt by personally guaranteeing the
loan. The pressure then exists for the personal guarantee whose “name is
on the line”, to make decisions that stem from this pressure. Because of
these pressures, we witness the appointment of elders that do not qualify
in accordance with scripture. Qualification is indeed a topic in itself.
The concept of a head pastor, associate
pastors under him, elders and deacons under them - is not scripturally
based. Scriptures only reveal “elders” who comprised the offices of
superintendent and deacon. It is always seen as a team of elders
and it never possesses the control that is typical in most churches. Who
makes the final decisions? The eldership is expected to be a
leadership that possesses maturity, totally meeting the qualifications,
walking in the unity of the faith, and having learned to hear the voice of
the Spirit. Therefore it is through consensus that a church government
should operate. What if there are no mature candidates? Then
maybe you should not start a church; instead start gatherings whereby you
can nurture the saints unto maturity. Out of this “labor” you can
ordain a team of elders and either move on to start other gatherings or
become a fellow elder with the newly appointed team. What if I have
a church already? Then make decisions with the “pattern” in
mind, but you cannot be in bondage to previous mistakes or having operated
in an old wineskin. In other words, operate as the lead elder, allow the
vision God gave you to be duplicated among others - until you can raise up
a team of trusted/qualified elders; then appoint them as superintendents
and deacons – with you as a co-elder. To accomplish this, it is my
personal conviction that the present head elder must not be the personal
guarantee on any debts and must not have assets titled to him personally.
If filing for non-profit corporate status prevents you from doing this
then you should not file. Scriptural church government can place us in the
position where the devil has no place in our eldership. But someone
has to be the head? Yes and no. When immaturities exist things do
not function properly and poor decisions are frequent, thus causing
controversy and division. An immature head elder will cause division just
as easily as immature elders under him. God does not honor any man making
ungodly decisions no matter what his position. We as leaders must grow up
and raise up other disciples that will walk in unity with us. Until this
maturity occurs as I am teaching it, the head elder must rule imperfectly.
In other words he has to make the final decisions. If he does not operate
this way then others leaders will rule with a consensus that destroys. On
the other hand I believe a head elder is not successful until he can be a
co-elder that has a team of elders that rule by consensus – as five
fingers in a glove function perfectly in unison.
The counterfeit of “unity in leadership”
as I have discussed is seen when a lead elder rules those under him by
intimidation. This type of elder/superintendent will find agreement but it
is a false agreement. Almost every minister wants an influx of people from
a revival harvest to fill the seats of their church, the problem occurs in
the church government AFTER they get there. There will be a falling away
every time, because the church government is out of God’s order. People
tend to be safer in the streets than in many of our churches. God will
restore church government and a functioning 5-fold ministry and then
we will see a great harvest. I see clearly, that the church as we have
seen things, in the past… is passing away and what we will see in its
place is a “truly functioning church” demonstrating true unity in the
faith. God is restoring co-eldership through unity and in our last chapter
called the seven thunders we will see how all of this fits into the
pattern of what God is doing. The 7th thunder deals with church
government and ministry. The 7th thunder shall be a thunder of
setting everything in order.
1 Pet 5:1-3
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as {your} fellow
elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also
of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you,
exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to
{the will of} God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as
lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be
examples to the flock. (NAS)
Let us make some observances. Peter was one of
the twelve in church government. How did he exercise this authority? AS A
FELLOW ELDER! Eldership should rule and oversight through EXAMPLE. Church
government does not contain the methodology that world government
utilizes. World government “LORDS OVER”. This is not the pattern for
God’s church government. All who called themselves pastor must now
follow the example of being a “co-elder”. Today’s pastors must
relinquish control of their congregations to a team of mature elders that
rule by example, with the pastor himself being simply a co-elder. Pulpits
must now be shared frequently, the vision and objectives must now be seen
equally with a consensus, and the traditions of men must be “disposed
of” by the entire eldership. IMPOSSIBLE? Not if God ordains the elders
instead of man doing the ordaining, and not if God’s people will
exchange the old wineskins with God’s new wineskin. As a head elder we
do not worry about someone taking control once we have God’s mature
eldership in place. God will rule His eldership and release head elders
from the pressures of making the vision happen. God will assemble leaders
of His choosing.
There is no room in a team of elders for
legalism, iron fisted rule, and the IMPOSING OF ONE’S WILL ON OTHERS.
Because we have deviated from the pattern – we see great affliction and
controversies within our churches. Many churches have become soap operas
that have allowed the world’s influence to pollute God’s government.
God is putting to death all these ways of man in order to establish His
way that shall remain for eternity. Intellect and great planning cannot
accomplish this church government. This way for God’s government is
established through men who have learned to die to their ways and
exchange them for God’s ways. These leaders will have the mind of
Christ for God’s methods of superintending, and these leaders will learn
to find God’s wisdom through consensus. Their maturity is the
ingredient that causes unity, and the examples they set - are blameless
before God’s people. They are men that stand for God’s ways and
God’s character.
As far as church government ABOVE the local
(city) eldership – THIS IS NOT SCRIPTURAL IN ANY SENSE. There is no
“Jerusalem type” church government outside of the local eldership - in
today’s church. These unscriptural activities have allowed unqualified
elders to rule and have thus damage the sheep of God. However, the local
eldership can decide on matters within a local congregation and gain
wisdom for their decisions from other ministry gifts in the church
abroad. Even Paul did not exercise eldership at anytime - though he
birthed a particular church and continued to be a father to them. He
exercised his gift - NOT a governmental POSITION. Church government
outside of the local church will cause unneeded burdens and bondages on
the local church government. These ties should be broken if they exist.
Unfortunately this eliminates most denominations because they are
based on these unscriptural hierarchies. Now, if there is a “counsel”
that is simply centralized to serve the local eldership and they do not
possess “decision making authority” or pressure – it is considered
in line with the pattern as long as directed by the Spirit. In these
cases, the “counsel” should not be receiving guarantees of financial
gain - less their motives become corrupt.
Some in ministry take the view that we should
mimic the early church – verbatim. God’s pattern does not change but
the methods He uses will change with the wind (Spirit). For instance, the
early church in Jerusalem was seen as making “all things common”.
There is a principle of God there, but we should never mimic that exact
method unless directly exactly to do so by the Spirit. In the early
church, not all churches mimic that method of provision.
Another example; I believe in home churches as patterned in the New
Testament, but that does not mean that all “non-home churches” are
against the pattern. This is where we learn to be sober in understanding
what God is teaching in scriptures. In all of these things, there is only
one thing God puts His stamp of approval on – His Own Son Jesus. Church
growth, manifestations of the spirit, signs & wonders, and great altar
calls are not an indicator that God puts His stamp of approval on the
vision of a certain leadership. Our vision must reflect Jesus’ vision
and Jesus’ vision always looks like the PATTERN. These things I speak
will lay out a pattern of church government that I perceive will bring
life from the dead. It will create a functioning government that Jesus
will be manifested as Lord. This church government is a temporal
government for the purpose of edification unto the day of Christ. It is a
government that will continue only until the King of kings returns to rule
and reign with PERFECTION. This new wineskin is not the final wineskin, it
points to that perfect government that is eternal, which shall come. Our
end hope is for that final government, and yet God wants us to first
fulfill the perfecting of this present government – so
that it will be a testimony to the lost and an edification to the found.
AMEN
Prophetic
Forerunners
Eph 2:19-22
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you
are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having
been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ
Jesus Himself being the corner {stone} in whom the whole building, being
fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you
also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (NAS)
In an exclusive sense, those who are called to
be an apostle or prophet should be a role model and become a foundation
for others to follow. Remember these are not church government offices as
many teach. The word office is never presented in relationship with these
gifts except when KJV mistranslates the word “office” in Romans. The
apostle and prophet is a gift that God gives to minister to
the church with a “quality of building with special skills”.
These special skills or endowments are best observed in God’s example of
building the tabernacle of Moses. Let us observe these special qualities
and skills that are observed.
Apostles and prophets are forerunners. They
are forerunners of seeing and doing God’s plan so others can see a
demonstration of what pleases God. These forerunners include all those we
see in the Bible that followed and became God’s exhibition, God’s
blueprint, all of which Jesus Himself fulfilled and demonstrated. The
forerunners also include those today that reveal and demonstrate God’s
plan in purity and maturity. We might get the idea then that apostles and
prophets are an elite bunch. Not at all, they are simply forerunners for
those that come afterwards – a people who see the model of
Jesus portrayed and follow Jesus because of what they have
seen portrayed. Jesus was the Apostle and Prophet that the “gift
of the apostle and prophet” will exhibit. That is what makes them a
firm foundation, upon which you are built on.
We must be sober in our thinking concerning a
calling and gift. If any are called to perform any ministry function, by
itself, it means nothing. Only heeding the call and pursuing Jesus and
thereby becoming a blueprint of Love and Wisdom in the Power of God will
we amount to anything. Just as there are immature shepherds (pastors),
there will be immature apostles and prophets in this age. Therefore we
have the scriptures, to give us the means by which we can examine these
role models to see if they “match up”. If they match up we can
therefore be fitted together, built together, because our role models were
fitted with the cornerstone. How do I know who these apostles &
prophets are? Because you will see that they fit; that is as long as you
are hungry for Truth and have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit
is revealing to you. How do I know if I am a forerunner? You will
see this plan with CLEAR VISION and have grace to become a demonstration
of this plan to others.
We have preset concepts of what an apostle and
prophet are. The first problem is you must see them as ministry gifts
instead of church government. Then we must see them as
"forerunners" - that is why they are the foundation. A shepherd
(pastor), teacher, and evangelist can become an apostle or prophet IF they
see the blueprint clearly and demonstrate it in COMPLETION as a foundation
for others. To clarify what I just said; it is not that you are being
promoted to a higher position – it is a gifting and therefore God is
blending gifts as He wills. No matter what our role is today, if we are
seeing with “clear vision” and demonstrate it – you may be called to
be an apostle or prophet. “I do not quite see with “clear vision”,
what about me?” That is fine, be content in your role, and be content in
being built into the foundation. Desire not to be anything that you are
not equipped to do; in the book of Romans it calls that “questioning the
potter”. As you mature in Jesus, you will have ample opportunities to
minister – no matter what your calling and blend of gifts are!
The equipping of the apostle and prophet have
little to do with mere activities, they are simply equipped to blaze a
trail for those that will follow - that is their gift. Because of the
forerunner nature of the apostle and prophet, you will see them minister
concerning the foundation we are laying more than what we are building on
that foundation. The role of an apostle is different than that of a
prophet in the type of foundational work is being brought forth. The
apostle will be more of a father role in the foundation whereas the
prophet will be more of an emphasis on the voice and message of the
foundation to make sure it is lead in a fashion that affects the building
to come afterwards. Paul was called an apostle and prophet. He had more
gifts besides these as well. I know that I have received the gift of a
prophet that has resulted in my zeal for the house of God concerning
truth. However, in being a prophet I have received truth in the past and
instead of maturely building the foundation to the temple of
God, I hurt the foundation because of immaturity. I saw correctly,
I heard correctly but I communicated that truth incorrectly. Responses are
important as well. Because of zeal for truth you are intolerant of the
false. My past responses to false doctrine may have been more damaging
then the false doctrine itself. Therefore the gift of a prophet in an
immature or impure vessel is not unto edification many times. We minister
a mixture that hurts the foundation if we do not properly handle the Word
of truth and our attitudes towards the church.
We think an apostle is the starter of many
churches. The role of an apostle may include this activity, but the
apostle may simply be called to blaze a trail in his current sphere of
influence. For example, if I had the opportunity to see an individual that
lived a life as a store clerk and yet lived according to the complete plan
that is revealed, he would have become a forerunner in the maturity that
we speak of in this book – LIKE PAUL. He would be leading others to
Jesus, because he has become a light to the world. He would invest time
and labor in maturing others and revealing to them God’s ways, because
he would be compelled to do so by the Spirit. Both compassion and gifts
would be demonstrated to fellow workers, customers and all that he comes
into contact with, because maturity will always overflow in gifts and love
towards others. And finally we would see the sufferings of Christ in
abundance, endured with grace. So why would you call him an apostle or
prophet? It is because he would be a forerunner, and because we have yet
to see the maturity of Paul in this generation. This particular example
would demonstrate this passage in Ephesians concerning the apostle and
prophet more than one who has started a thousand churches. My emphasis
to you is that, he that builds with gold, silver, and precious stones is
him who builds with what God values.
As you observe the life of Paul throughout
this book, wouldn’t you agree that there are few examples on planet
Earth today that have reached this maturity level? However this maturity
level WILL be entered into in these last days. The believer that reaches a
maturity level beyond the maturity of the typical minister
could be called a forerunner. Therefore what I am saying is that the
maturity level equal to the "early church apostles and prophets"
will be reached first by forerunners, these forerunners are called
"today's apostles and prophets". They become a foundation that
looks like Jesus on the Earth. But they do not look and they do not act
like we have imagined. They will be seen in many different activities that
are not typical of what WE HAVE SAID they would be doing. Their activities
might be the activities we see in Paul’s life, or they may be simply the
activities we portrayed in the life of the store clerk. They will not
be as “glorified” or “immortal” as some teach that they are. They
may live in prisons as Paul, boiled in oil as John, and in hiding as
prophets of old.
We say an apostle is this and a
prophet is that. God says that an apostle and prophet is him
who is a forerunner that is fitted to Jesus and builds ONLY according to
the blueprint. What I am talking about here is - a ministering to others
that is God’s “MORE EXCELLENT WAY”. This I see clearly, those that
follow Jesus with their whole heart at this reading will either become or
shall see with their own eyes, God’s forerunners – in this generation.
God is at present preparing His forerunners, they may be store clerks and
not predominant ministers or in church government, on the other hand they
may be laboring on the mission field or in Christian media, I do not know,
but I do know that they will suffer much in blazing the way. Of course
many of them are already forerunning. I am prophesying about forerunners
that will attain to the maturity level seen in Paul's life.
Remember this – we are all called to be
temple builders, to be the five-fold ministry, to be servers, in at least
some extent – you are not excluded in God’s plan concerning ministry.
These ministry gifts are given to all of us as He wills, in
the measure that He wills, and in the blend
that He wills. These ministry gifts are never taught in scripture to be
reserved for those that hold church government positions. These ministry
gifts are never taught in scripture to be reserved for those that conduct
full time activities of ministry. Do what you have been equipped to do
and whatever that is, build it with GOLD instead of with WOOD! You
might say, “How can I be compared to a Pastor "? A Pastor is a gift
of an under-shepherd of Jesus that feeds and cares for the sheep of God;
if you disciple a believer then are you not exercising the gift of an
under shepherd in the same manner as a full time pastor/superintendent of
a local congregation? Therefore we must all learn to feed God’s sheep
and be a pattern to the believers, not just Timothy, Titus, and our
superintendent (bishop/pastor/overseer).
I do not wish to detract from the full time
role that some might “partake in” concerning these ministry gifts;
they do have certain great measures of equipping, they build a certain
“skilled” way, but God wants to emphasize inclusion to you instead of
exclusion concerning ministry gifts. In other words we have already had
much teaching on the importance of the five-fold ministry – it has been
quite emphasized, even to the extreme but it excluded anyone that is not a
full time minister. Therefore God’s emphasis here is one
of balance to “fit the whole body”.
Prophet
Misconceptions
God wants pre-conceived ideas about His
ministry - to come to a halt! For example, to show an extreme teaching of
the gift of a prophet, it is taught that the role of the prophet is like
certain Old Testament prophets who “tell it like it is”. In other
words a prophet becomes unpopular and even offensive but will declare
judgment in truth. The teaching will even give permission to be rude and
contentious for the sake of truth. It is never the wisdom of God to
categorize what a prophet will say or how he may say it. The gift of a
prophet is very simple; he is simply a forerunner of standing in the
counsel of God concerning certain truth and is then equipped and
responsible to speak forth this counsel. Soon as you say that it has to be
spoken a certain way or it has to be a certain truth – you are missing
it. The true prophet will only tell what he hears in the counsel of God
that is revealed IN SCRIPTURE.
The "teller" of dreams and visions
does not indicate that one is called to be a prophet. Yet when one is
called to be a prophet, they still have the same decisions to make that
everyone must make. They must choose Life or death with every decision.
They can choose to fulfill their call or not. They can choose to "run
ahead" and are equipped to do so. They can choose the safe ground of
"not running ahead" and avoid the rejection that
comes to all that do run ahead. The prophet can seek God in
scripture and their gift can unveil to them the mysteries that have been
hidden since the foundations of the world. All prophets have this gift but
few will pay the price for it. The price of a forerunner is tremendous.
That price is not so much the tremendous amount of studying, praying, etc.
The price that I am referring to is the price to hear what the Spirit is
saying in scripture and after this “unveiling” you are willing to
preach it even though everyone in your sphere of influence believes
something different. The prophet must pave the way for that truth knowing
that the carnal and religious will reject it.
The true prophet fears God and trembles every
time he handles the scriptures and yet speaks as an oracle of God with
authority. Since there is NO OFFICE OF PROPHET, only a gift of
prophet, there is no office authority. There is not church government
concerning a prophet. However there is authority for prophets concerning
the authority of the message being presented. A prophet in itself
is a gift with no authority but when you speak what God has said then all
of heaven stands behind that word. That is why a prophet speaks with
authority when God commissions him. The false prophet will be cocky and
that is the perversion of authority. The false prophet speaks what he
hasn’t heard and exerts authority not given to him. Paul had authority
because of the apostolic word that was with him not because of a position
of authority. Scripturally examine how Paul talked with churches that he
fathered in the faith such as the Corinthian Church. He did not come to
correct them as a boss, he corrected them with pleadings of the truth.
This truth can make one tremble because it contains Jesus’ authority but
for those that do not accept truth it has no authority to change. Examine
how Paul exercised the authority of the gift and yet he possessed no
church government office. Church government in the early church yielded to
the authority of the gift by producing fruit of repentance.
A mature prophet will rarely
tell you of their supernatural experiences. For example, if they went to
heaven, you will know little of it. Why? The fear of God in them cannot
afford to bring attention to anyone other than Jesus. The prophet knows
the revelation of Jesus and His words are the subject matter. The prophet
knows that telling the people of their great visitation can manipulate.
The mature prophet simply fears God in these areas. Many of today's
prophets know little of this type of fear and humility. They are not
forerunners until they do.
The prophet is responsible to become a
life’s demonstration in maturity. The prophet is not to be offensive;
his humility is as such that only Jesus must be the “Offensive One”
and not himself. The same is true for misunderstandings; you must present
Jesus to the world without misunderstanding, your personality must not be
misunderstood, and a stumbling block or offensive – the Jesus that you
present to others must be the only One that is misunderstood or a
stumbling block. For example, if I have an area of my life that has
remained undealt with by the Spirit, such as an arrogance that seems to
flavor what I am speaking, it will present a version of Jesus that will
flavor Him with this same arrogance. Therefore in preaching Jesus I become
the stumbling block instead of Jesus. Paul did not forbid those that
preached the Gospel as such, praise God that Jesus is being preached, but
there is a “more excellent way”.
Are these sayings true only of the prophet?
Not at all, it is true of every minister, even to the example of the
“store clerk apostle”. So what is the difference between the
apostles/prophets and the other ministry gifts? They are forerunners and
they are specially equipped to be a forerunner. The New Testament apostles
and prophets were forerunners that produced a maturity that resulted in
the early church, but we will yet see it again - in the last day’s
church. In Jesus’ ministry He ministered differently, He was a
forerunner of that which was to come, what was the response of the people?
Matt 7:28-29
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds
were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had
authority, and not as their teachers of the law. (NIV)
Ø
Forerunners speak in a
manner that causes amazement because the people have yet to hear anything
similar.
Ø
Are today’s apostles and
prophets teaching similar?
Offensive
Prophets
Sometimes Jesus will seem rude or contentious
to some, but the prophet himself should not be rude or contentious. Paul
was a prophet and then became an apostle; he learned to be all things to
all men. He was a Jew to the Jews and a Gentile to the Gentiles. He
yielded on many occasions that which was true, to win them to Christ. If
it was meat sacrificed to idols, he yielded the eating even though he knew
that the meat had no power over him and could not harm him; the eating of
meat could harm the weak – therefore maturity does not eat for the sake
of others. In church customs he would yield to their particular custom, no
matter if it was Paul’s custom or not. Do you see rudeness or contention
in Paul? On the contrary there was no offense in him except those that
refused the truth that comes from heaven in the Person of Jesus Christ.
The bottom line is, God is raising up a church that will have their lives
so dealt with by fire, and they are so out of the way - that they are no
longer an offense.
1 Cor 10:32-33
Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the
church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking
my own profit, but the {profit} of the many, that they may be saved.
(NAS)
Does
this mean that a prophet does not prophesy judgment? The prophet does
speak forth judgment but only when God initiates it and only in the
character of Love and humility. It cannot be tainted with opinion and the
zeal of man. Remember that all ministers must have a shepherd’s heart
- Jesus only has one heart. Finally, if you are not called to be an
apostle or prophet then you have the privilege of eating from the fruit of
the lips of these trail blazers, they suffered certain hardships so that
you do not have to, because of the love that they possess for the sheep of
God. For the last day’s apostles and prophets will be characterized
by one thing above all other things – that they lay down their lives for
the sheep of God.
Acts 15:6
And the apostles and elders came together to consider of
this matter.
I see scriptures like this becoming common
place in this church generation. Gifts and government converging to
restore order and to restore the wisdom of God – to the church. They
will not be meetings of pride, power struggles, and debates. They will be
meetings of consensus among God’s leadership that will give an example
of unity. There will be no unified church if God’s government and
God’s gifts cannot find agreement. Strong opinions and agendas have no
place if we desire to reach a consensus among mature leaders. The first
step is to abandon the old wineskin of traditional church government and
the misconceptions of 5-fold ministry.
HAY
House Building:
1 Cor 3:12
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Hay is not the same hay that we store up in
this passage. Hay in ancient times referred to grass. Sometimes it is mown
grass, sometimes it means cereal grain. All of these found themselves into
the house of man. Grass grew on the housetops of the houses and because it
could not stand up to the heat and contained no root, would wither and
die. Just as the silver overlaid stone in the temple, grass overlays the
house of man. Cereal grain would be the counterpart of the silver vessels,
both of which were stored up in the house; one for the glory of God and
one for the feeding of the flesh.
Teaching with hay would be giving those in the
church the food that their natural man will enjoy. The result is the soul
part of you will be fed and will get stronger. What does that mean? Your
soul is your mind, will and emotions. When we say that your soul man gets
stronger, what we mean is that your thoughts are distracted away from that
which is Eternal. Your will becomes harder to the point that the gentle
prompting of the Holy Spirit will be ignored. Your emotions are no longer
manifested in His Holiness. The bottom line is that you are no longer
subjected to His Lordship. Your ears were tickled by a clever message
given with excitement, that inspired your mind to thinking, and your
emotions are stirred up, with shouts of hallelujahs ringing, but it fed
your natural man, and it bore no fruit. If you have no fruit in your life,
check your diet, it may consist of hay. Being stirred up in your spirit
man is what matters and only the anointing on our words can do that. Being
stirred up may not bring as many amens, but it yields eternal fruit.
There are parts of the body of Christ that teach
only what they know the people want to hear and others that will only hear
what they want to hear. When Jesus told the disciples that they “must
eat His flesh and drink His blood, ye shall have no life in you”, they
were offended. As the Passover Lamb we must eat from ALL and Every Word of
God in its entirety for the life of God to be in you.
Ø
At Passover time they were
required to eat the WHOLE lamb.
Ø
You must eat of the gifts
and the fruit of the Spirit!
Ø
You must eat of the
prosperity and the sufferings!
Ø
You must eat of the
liberty of grace that is free from the law, and eat as well, from the
discipline of the walk of the Spirit, which sets you apart from the deeds
of the flesh!
John 6:53-58
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh
is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath
sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall
live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your
fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall
live for ever.
John 6:61-66
When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at
it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall
see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that
believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed
not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you,
that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From
that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Many went back! Not a few, but MANY. How sad
that Jesus offends many. Jesus could have kept this saying to Himself and
all would have been well, He would have still had a great following. But
the purpose of God is that He unveils Himself to us in fullness, in
entirety, and we eat of Him.
Ø
We can no longer pick our
diet.
Ø
We can no longer pick and
choose, when God unveils Himself, we must eat His flesh and drink His
Blood as HE SAID.
Ø
He knows those who will
betray Him.
Ø
Could it be that the great
falling away will come after a great revealing of Who Jesus is?
Dividing
Words
Hay building is always easy, but the hard
sayings divide, and the True Word Spoken from Heaven will sooner or later
DIVIDE, even as Light shone into the darkness will divide the light from
the dark.
Heb 4:12-13
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes
of him with whom we have to do.
We must allow the true Word from God's mouth
to divide our heart so that we will be separated unto Him. The word
"holy" means separated unto God. The Word of God is what makes
you holy and it is that which will bring you to the Holy of Holies.
In the Old Testament there was a brook outside
of Jerusalem called "Kidron". This is the brook that was used to
discard the idols whenever a righteous king was in office. It was also set
as a boundary marker by King David to confine Shimei as part of his
sentence for doing evil to God's anointed. Everything on the Jerusalem
side represents the kingdom of God's Son, the kingdom of Light. Everything
on the other side is darkness that is full of idols. The word Kidron
means, "dusk". Dusk is where light ends and darkness begins.
Shimei did not heed the sentence and died. We must rid our life of idols
and clean up our own Jerusalem - we are eternal Jerusalem and Kidron is
the dividing line! Kidron is the dividing line where we DEAL WITH these
idols in our heart. Josiah the king of Judah was the ONLY king of Israel
that TOTALLY ridded Jerusalem of idols. There was not an area in Jerusalem
that was not touched including simple luck charms in the houses of the
people. God is after EVERY area of your heart that is not His and God will
set forth the dividing line to have it dealt with. It is at this time when
you must do as Josiah did, cast it forth, grind it to powder, and burn it
to nothing. Josiah went to EXTREMES to rid Jerusalem of its idols and went
as far as defiling every altar that was made to a false god - to destroy
FUTURE false worshipping.
Idols are plentiful in today’s church but
the ministry of the Spirit of God is starting to move like Josiah, to the
extreme of “ridding in our Jerusalem” – that is in our own heart.
The idols of money and things must go, the idols of conceit and
self-worship must go, the idols of “doing evil to others" must go
and the “time wasting” idols of vanity must go. Idols of vanity
represent anything that takes your time away from the feet of Jesus
Christ. This includes certain television programming. REMEMBER THIS, it is
the ministry of the Holy Spirit to reveal which idol that He says, “it
needs to go”, then you will have grace from heaven to put it away. If
you take it upon yourself to start ridding your life of idols, then it
will become a product of self-will, and self-will is itself an idol,
therefore you will have just replaced one idol with another. The Holy
Spirit shows you and deals with you at Kidron and gives grace to deliver
you from that idol for eternity.
Stubble
House Building:
1 Cor 3:12
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Stubble represents the building material used
for bricks. Without stubble, the bricks would break apart. Stubble is
blown around quite easily and would represent that which is blown with
every wind of doctrine and that which burns. The walls are going up, but
they are temporal. Your house will never stand against the fire of God. A
people ministering with stubble will have no long residence.
Titus 1:10-11
For there are many unruly and vain talkers and
deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be
stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not,
for filthy lucre's sake.
Stubble symbolizes “worthless” or
“vain”. There are those who teach others in the body of Christ and
they do so with VAIN conversations. Let us look at some other scriptures
on vain.
1 Tim 6:20
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding
worldly {and} empty chatter {and} the opposing arguments of what is
falsely called "knowledge"--
Many will come to you with knowledge apart
from God and use scriptures to do it. Eve took from the tree of knowledge
apart from God. Satan tempted Jesus with scripture apart from God. It is
falsely called knowledge.
2 Tim 2:15-16
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun
profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
Why do we study? To give ability to recognize
teaching that increases unto more ungodliness. Remember they use scripture
to do it, but also remember 1 John says it is for that purpose you have
been given an anointing on the inside of you - for you to discern. That
anointing works as you study and are diligent in the Word of God.
Ø
The definition of VAIN or
STUBBLE is FRUITLESS.
Peter says that false teachers are as
wandering stars. What is a wandering star? A star that is under no rule -
They do not orbit. They are not attached to the body in Love. They speak
words of isolation. They ultimately isolate the hearers away from God even
as they themselves are isolated. Watch for doctrines that find fault with
the entire body; they sever a limb wherever they can. See the church of
our Lord with His eyes. The eyes of Jesus will see a bride without spot or
blemish.
Ø
Constantly dwelling on the
evil (darkness) will separate you from God.
Ø
What if a certain
denomination or movement is the great Babylon of Revelation?
Yes there will be the great whore and Babylon
of Revelation, but unless the Holy Spirit told you personally who
comprises this body of people, then you do not know. You may have listened
to someone that says they know, but they are probably wrong. SPECULATION
IS VAIN- IT IS STUBBLE!
Ø
The whore and Babylon are
a people that murder the saints!
Ø
Be careful who you would
want to identify with her.
Stubble is “vain speaking” that leads
others to increase their ungodliness. We tend to think that if it is vain
“what can it hurt” but God says that fruitless speaking will hurt
others.
2 Tim 2:16-18
But avoid worldly {and} empty chatter, for it will lead
to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.
Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, {men} who have gone astray from the
truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they
upset the faith of some. (NAS)
Ø
There is a definite trap
in conversations that are unprofitable and fail to preach Jesus and Him
crucified.
The
End Result
1Cor 3:13-16
each man's work will become evident; for the day will
show it, because it is {to be} revealed with fire; and the fire itself
will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has
built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is
burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as
through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and {that} the
Spirit of God dwells in you?
The main thought here is not deeds but of
ministry of the Word. This is not just a day after we die and go to be
with the Lord. When it refers to the day, it means the last days, that day
which is the culmination of all the plans and purposes of God. In the last
days the fire of God will reveal that which looks like Jesus and it will
reveal that which is not Jesus, it will reveal the True Temple of God and
all other temples will be nothing but a counterfeits. Rewards are given
out only if the quality of what you built in the lives of others is gold,
silver and precious stones. If you have edified another in Christ then you
will have BUILT A TEMPLE that shall remain forever. You have been a temple
builder even as you have allowed THE TEMPLE BUILDER build through your
life. It does not matter if flocks of people received you as being a
prophet from God or the “authority on the scriptures” – what matters
is what stands up to FIRE!
1Cor 3:17
If any man destroys the temple of God, God will
destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
The word “destroy” here means defile or
corrupt. Again keep the thought of what the Spirit of God is talking about
- teaching. It is a serious thing with God to make yourself a god over His
word - instead of subjecting yourself to the Word. It is this conceit
concerning scriptures that defiles many temples. There is a last days
“temple defiling ministry” going forth as never before but we shall
see God destroy them.
These have made themselves authority over the
scriptures. They decide their messages, they decide the method, and they
have decided where and who will receive the messages. They pervert the
pattern example that the apostles demonstrated in Love. They then defile
God's temple - YOU!
As an example of this perverting, scriptures
teach prosperity, but the Bible teaches sufferings in Christ as well. If
you examine Paul's ministry, He preached and boasted in the sufferings,
which he endured for Jesus' Namesake. Observe Paul's pattern example and
then observe ministers of the prosperity message.
Ø
Do they leave out the
passages about ALL the sufferings in His Name?
Ø
Do they lay a foundation
of subjection to the authority of Jesus?
Ø
After they minister, do
you see people transformed into His likeness?
You can use a truth and never see Him Who is
Truth. If you are not taught to be content in whatever state you are in,
than you are open targets for covetous instead of true prosperity. The
state, God might call you to, could be an abundance of earthly riches, but
be content if the steps you follow in Christ put you in a state of owning
nothing. Owning things or owning nothing, does not make you spiritual or
of faith or of a lack of faith. Walking in His steps in communion with Him
and obtaining the character of Jesus in your life producing fruit to be
eaten of all men, should be what you bend every effort around.
1Cor 3:18-23
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks
that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become
wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is
written, "{He is} the one who catches the wise in their
craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows the reasonings of the
wise, that they are useless." So then let no one boast in men. For
all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the
world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things
belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. (NAS)
The ministry gifts are just that, they are
gifts to you for your edification. Find a minister that will edify you and
be as a bondslave as Paul was, in Love.
1 Cor 4:1-2
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of
Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in
stewards, that a man be found faithful.
In the last days God is raising up ministers
like unto Paul. They have the anointing of the masterbuilder to lay the
foundation of Jesus. Others will build on it Gold, Silver and Precious
stones. They will speak like Jesus, not on their own authority. As they
have heard shall they declare. They will be faithful stewards that handle
the Word without deceit. They will suffer much for the sake of the Gospel
- That is the PATTERN to build the temple. As the house of man is built
and a natural man resides in it, so shall God's House be built and the
Glory of God shall fill the Temple.
IKing 8:11
So that the priests could not stand to minister because
of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
Hag 2:7-9
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all
nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the
LORD of hosts…. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of
the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace,
saith the LORD of hosts.
Jesus Christ is the desire of all nations that
will first manifest through His people to be a testimony to the heathen
and then bodily manifest to be a judge to the heathen, but FIRST he will
FILL US WITH GLORY!
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