By Pastor Alex
In the last few months, something strange happened in Afghanistan. Twenty years ago, during September, 9/11 happened. After 20 years of lives lost, sacrifices made, and millions of dollars spent, the Taliban remains active in Afghanistan. What a waste; to fight such a long battle and then come back to zero.
Thanks be to God the battles we fight will not come back to zero. In Christ, we move from victory to victory, strength to strength, and glory to glory. In Christ, every battle we face is winnable.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14
The keyword here is – Always. That is our portion. Christ is willing to triumph us in every battle now and forever.
Discipleship is the core activity of every believer. When we disciple someone, we must connect them to God, not teach them to do “quiet time.”
“Quiet time” is a process that must produce the following.
- Ability to hear God clearly; understand the inner witness. They must clearly understand when and how God communicates, His Presence, and how He manifests. They must learn to be sensitive to “when” and “how” He speaks
- They must develop the ability to pour out their hearts to God, find a solution for their own problems from Him and pray for themselves
- They must know how to divide the Word of God in a basic way
Believers must grow in this. This is the purpose of “quiet time.” It is not a routine or a ritual.
Our job is to teach them how to depend on God, not us leaders. Churches sometimes spoon-feed long-time believers. (This happens due to the prevailing church culture or due to how we shared the gospel). They keep asking the pastor to pray for even the smallest of things in their lives.
Teaching believers to depend on God is not easy
- It takes consistent education
- Exposing them to the Presence of God often
- Involves a lot of prayer for them
We are raising soldiers for Christ.
They should hear the voice of command and handle different situations with the Word and prayer.
When God says, He needs only “One man” on the ground – He is not talking about solo projects. He is telling about minimum requirements.
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”
Genesis 18:32
Abraham negotiated for a minimum requirement for God not to destroy a nation.
“One man” also means coming together as a corporate project. Solo projects destroy God’s plans.
Prayer is the foundation of everything we do for the Kingdom. Prayer bombards the enemy territory and can be compared to the Air force. But Air force alone is not enough. We need troops on the ground to secure victory.
So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
Exodus 17:11
That is a picture of intercessory prayer working in the battleground.
Another example is Nehemiah. He not only prayed, but he also pastored, surveyed, strategized, and took steps. We must know the territory and what we have in hand. God will give us the revelation and execution strategy to use what we got in our hands to further His Kingdom. When God gives the assignment, He provides, if we are faithful to do what He asks us to do.
The dynamics of every Church would be different depending on the people God has given us, but the DNA and the culture can be the same. The purpose and function can be the same.
We must move from trusting God to God being able to trust us.
He has been watching our lives – Our stewardship, commitment, and consistency.
Acts 17:26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
God decided the season and time when we will be born. Lord has raised us for such a time as this.
As a leader, be mindful of 3 key things.
- Be aware of the clash of kingdoms taking place now
- Everything around us is preparing for the rise of the Anti Christ. Just as we wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the world system is waiting for the Anti Christ.
- Don’t be stuck in the bubble of your ministry. There is no need to be afraid. As soldiers of Christ, we need to be aware. Whatever happens in the world will affect us.
Plan for 2030 made in the World Economic Forum: “You will own nothing, but you will be happy.” What is the plan? How will it be carried out? We don’t know.
Even if our property goes, we know how to respond from the Bible.
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, 33partly by being made a public spectacle through insults and distress, and partly by becoming companions with those who were so treated. 34For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better and lasting possession. 35Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
Hebrews 10: 32-39
37FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE,
HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY.
38BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH;
AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. 39But we are not among those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith for the safekeeping of the soul.
The key verse is Verse 36. Persevere until we have done the will of God and not shrink back.
Whatever Agenda is established around us to intimidate us or bring in fear – we focus on our assignment as a true soldier of God. Pandemic is only the beginning of things to come. Our safety is remaining where God tells us to, doing what He tells us to do.
World Economic Forum 2030 goals – Multi-National Corporations will take over small businesses. When all these things happen, we will be affected financially, and our needs will be affected. Only that which is built inside us will help us prevail. We will need the “extra oil” to finish the assignment.
Using the keyword – ‘New Normal’ they are tuning the world to embrace a new way of life and not go back to the old. Be aware – there will be a great war for our souls, families, and cities. We can’t be casual anymore.
When we say we are the Army of God it means, we carry a militant attitude and an intensity of spirit.
Before we get into the heat of the battle, if we don’t deal with our fears, it will control us causing us to shrink back. There is no more place left in our lives to not be spirit-led.
Judges 6:2-5 The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3For whenever Israel had sown, the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the people of the east and march against them. 4So they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, nor a sheep, ox, or donkey. 5For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts in number, and both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to ruin it.
It is a picture of what fear can do in our lives. For seven years, they were under the dominance and control of the enemy. Fear started to rule, and it determined their way of living. So, if we don’t deal with our fears, they will bring in an alternate lifestyle – doing the wrong things at the wrong place. Fear causes one to think a situation is unchangeable (“So why try?” attitude). Fear paralyzes us and fogs our sight (our instinct instead of the Holy Spirit takes over). Even though God called Gideon a warrior and nation transformer, fear blocked his work. When fear fills our minds, we adapt and adjust to an alternate lifestyle. Fear can paralyze a man with a great call and a nation with a great call.
If we are not careful to deal with ALL our fears, we will develop an alternate lifestyle when everything comes against us. An alternate lifestyle means moving away from what God has kept for us.
No more business as usual.
Everything is in place for a one-world government, one-world religion, one-world economic system. They are already putting this in place. So we as a church must be prepared to respond correctly. When they say the pandemic has set the ground for a one-world government, this is what it means – In my nation, now, if you want a job, you must be vaccinated. Even though the government states it’s not mandatory, the companies are making it so. In the future, imagine if you want a job – you must worship the beast. Then what will your response be? Then, no job, no money, no food. How will you respond?
Will you have the inner strength to trust God for provision? What fears can crop up? There will be a lot of pressure around you. If you don’t know your God or what God can do then fear will override your faith.
Falling in love with God NOW is most important.
That may seem basic, but in the coming days, the quality of your love for Him will determine whether you endure or crumble. The pressure will be real and intense. You will keep hearing these words – ‘the pressure will be real and intense’ because this is what WILL happen.
Sometimes when we say we love God, we are actually saying we love the blessings, the position of ministry, and the titles. When we talk, our words will reveal what we love. Sometimes, we become too familiar with God, and we forget the Jesus we first loved.
Let’s evaluate our hearts to find out where our love relationship is with Jesus.
There is a way to measure our commitment to Christ. The man who found the treasure sold everything and bought the field.
Are we sold out for Jesus ?
The five-fold ministry is to elevate the body of Christ. It is not to elevate the ministry, the title, or the function. My reference points are Dr. Jonathan David and Dr. Tunde Bakare; how they relate to one another. Although they are Prophetic-Apostolic across the nations, they stick to the title “Doctor.” If we look at the one above, Dr. Jonathan David, Bishop Bill Hamon – the Father of the Prophetic Movement, he still goes by Bishop only; no other title.
Their policy is to bear the fruit, not the title. The work of 5 fold ministry is most important. We are rising as the last days’ Church. The ways we build, give clarity, and direction to the Church, must be relevant to the season. We must be able to see through the situation and help navigate through it.
We must not be distracted by the ministry, title, or function but must focus on leading the Church in the right direction.
We must interpret time and world through the lens of scripture, not what the world experts say. From the Bible, we must understand the events and seasons of God. What does God say about this situation in His Word? Even simple things like vaccination, we should not worry what the experts say but listen to what God says. Otherwise, you will be confused, drawn here and there.
Who is better to give you clarification than God Himself?
The believers we are building now are the finishing generation that will finish the work during the next 20 to 25 years. The kind of believers who rise in the next few months or years are those primed for this season. Those produced during the persecution in Acts carried a different caliber of life. Even in the church of Thessalonica that went out of the persecution, the caliber of their life was different.
We must be careful not to quench people with what worked twenty years ago or ten or what we grew up with because now the season is different.
That’s why we talked about discipleship. We cannot build now based on how we used to build 20 years ago. We need a fresh strategy from God. A fresh understanding of the Word for the kind of seed we need to sow. We know from scripture that we need to rise in stature, and we need to be holy. Apart from that, there are two important scriptures for understanding the kind of believers we need in the last days
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
Revelations 12:11
A fearless community of believers who did not fear for their own lives.
But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
Matthew 24:13
Those who have the power to endure fears and challenges.
The atmosphere around is aggressive. It is going to get more intense. So the type of believers we rise must be aggressive in the spirit.
Pastor cyrus
What we sow is what we get. We must not just preach. Instead, we must ground the truth in their hearts. The truth is grounded in the lives of people through the process called discipleship.
Discipleship can create a culture.
Daniel 1:3 – 7 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service. Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.
That is how the Babylonian system took the people of God and “discipled” them into their culture. They took the best, indoctrinated them, and trained them in their culture and custom. The same principles can be applied to discipleship.
We must build the core group. When Jesus chose people in His core group, He did not choose the best but He chose the people who loved God and listened to Him.
Those were building materials for him. To create a culture in the church, we must look for the best (not the perfect) within our churches to indoctrinate them in the ways of the Kingdom. Then they will be our extension of God’s kingdom.
Acts 19:8-10 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews, and Greeks.
Paul had 12 disciples who he took aside and built into them. The next verse says the whole of Asia heard the gospel. Jesus spent a lot of time with Peter, James, and John. They then became the pillars of the church. They were the foundation for the church. Effect of discipleship!
We can either be this type of true Church or be the self-centered Church mentioned in 2 Timothy 3.
Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold.
Believers whose love grows cold are those who will be deceived. Where our Church is, in terms of our love for God, depends on how we build our church and people’s individual choices.
In the Singapore army, every male gets inducted and kept as Reserve Service. Every year we are called for 40 days of work. Until 45 years, we take a fitness test to see if we are fit for war. In the event of war, we have to be ready to strategize and execute. We cannot be focusing on fitness at that time.
If we enter into a season of battle as an Army of God, how is our fitness?
Physical health is important and cannot be neglected. If you are bedridden or dead you are not useful for God.
For mental, physical, and spiritual fitness we must have proper life structures.
For our life to run well, we must have core values; values for mental health, relationships, and spiritual dimensions. All these are prerequisites for battle.
So let’s look into Ephesians 6 and see if we are fit.
Helmet – mind, mindset, thinking patterns. All this, if not protected we can be taken down
Breastplate – issues of the heart, walking in righteousness
Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
The heart is the source of our life. Emotional issues not dealt with is a button for the enemy to press
Belt of truth – Walking in truth; integrity. If you are not walking in integrity, you are opening a door for the enemy to come in and neutralize you
Shoes – It is about your walk with the Lord. A consistent walk of witness; your lifestyle as a believer
Sword – Word of God. If there is no depth, if you have no understanding, you don’t know how to use the Word and draw from the Word. You don’t know how to use your sword
Shield – This means your faith. If you have not allowed God to stretch and build your faith, you can easily be dismantled
I am just using the Armor to illustrate where the enemy can neutralize us even if we rise.
All of us grow at different paces. We all struggle with different things. The way we relate to God is at different levels.
The key things are these – Consistency, Commitment, and a ‘Keep on trying’ attitude.
These 3 things will allow God to intervene in our lives at some point and bring a change. He will accelerate things and bring us to a place of victory. He looks at our hearts.
Example of Peter and Judas – Both let the Lord down and both had the opportunity to be restored. When Jesus went to Peter, he was remorseful and repentant. So what did God do? He not only restored him to position, but he also restored his dignity. The one who ran away became the leader of the movement. Judas was remorseful, but he didn’t take the chance to make it up with Jesus and instead took his life.
Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his sight, But the LORD weighs the motives.
God looks at the motives of our hearts, not just our actions.
If your Christian walk is up and down, find out why. But in the meantime, be consistent with the Lord. Don’t give up. God will intervene and accelerate if your heart is right.
The nature of the assignment will determine the types of battles and storms we each have to face. As we navigate through our storms we must allow the Holy Spirit to build us as weapons in the hand of God.
We must remember we are the sons and daughters of the Most High God. We must understand the DNA we carry.
We must understand the dynamics and nature of the seed we carry.
We carry an indestructible seed
1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
The seed gives us the power to rise above sin
1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Because the seed remains in us, sin cannot continue to rise. The seed is used to describe the Kingdom of God, Word of God, and Christ. The seed, which is the Word of God, produces the life of Christ in us. Allow the seed to grow to full potential then the life of Christ will manifest in you.
The seed comes with the potency to change you and others around you
Matthew 13: 31, 32 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; 32and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE SKY come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”
God plants His Kingdom as an insignificant seed. He places his life and power into the seed. This life and power cause an unstoppable growth in the seed.
Isaiah 55:10,11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it produce and sprout,
And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.
That word has the potent power to bring change, first to you and then to those around you. Everything associated with God and His word carries this DNA – Unstoppable.
Isaiah 14:24 The LORD of armies has sworn, saying, “Certainly, just as I have intended, so it has happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand,
Everything God planned and purposed for us will happen. It is Unstoppable. The only person who can stop it is us.
The Kingdom is Unstoppable
Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
Isaiah 9:7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Government of Christ is Unstoppable. From one life to another, from one city to another it will grow until it fills the whole earth. In the millennium, the spiritual Kingdom of Christ becomes a physical Kingdom.
Revelations 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
His Church is Unstoppable
Mathew 16: 18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
His people are Unstoppable
Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit came on normal people and they became Unstoppable.
His Word is Unstoppable
2 Timothy 2:9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.
His work in us is Unstoppable
Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
We serve an Unstoppable God working through an Unstoppable Spirit building the Unstoppable Kingdom through an Unstoppable Church with Unstoppable lives.
That’s the Unstoppable seed we carry in our lives.
The only one who can stop the seed is you and me by how we live our lives.
- We measure by the ministry, but God measures by our lives
- We measure by how much we feel his Presence. He measures by how strong we are built on the inside. His Mercy and kindness bring in His Presence. But the most important thing is how strong we are built inside to face challenges, which determines the stature and quality of our lives
- The disciples lived 3 ½ years with Jesus 24/7. This is a picture of intimacy. What happened to Judas? He walked intimately with Jesus but his heart was not built accurately. So he fell for the challenge of money. It is not what we know or what we feel, it is what we become
- Some measure by answered prayers. When the Israelites prayed, quails came for persistent prayers. That is not a measure of how much we are built inside. Answered prayers come for many reasons. It does not reflect our internal condition.
Take time to see what is stopping the seed. From Isaiah 55, we know the seed comes to perform tasks. Evaluate what happened to the seed inside you.
How do you think the self-centered church comes about in 2 Timothy 3? – Self overrode the seed
- Some of us are too familiar with His word and His presence, we take everything at surface level, and we don’t go deeper. Whenever we look at scripture, we approach the scripture with familiarity- “Oh! I know this scripture.” So we approach the scripture in an intellectual mode. So it stays as knowledge, and it doesn’t go deeper to cause change. It does not bring forth fresh revelation. Consider carefully, how you hear. The Word is Jesus.
The woman with the issue of blood decided to touch Jesus.
She had three things working for her.
- Desire
- Decision
- Determination
She was determined UNTIL she found victory.
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him.
2nd Timothy 2: 3,4
This talks about focus and priority as soldiers of Christ. Draw lines and take your position: We must be clear – where we stand, how we stand & what we must do (As the Lord God lives before whom I stand).
Are we ready to engage in battle?
For example, in football, just because we have the best place doesn’t guarantee victory. We need a strategy. Things must be structured in our play. Similarly, we cannot fight haphazardly. Everyone cannot be running here and there. There must be clarity in deployment, tactics, and structure. Structure in the church means the structure we put to define the way we do things.
The Church of Antioch is a model and pattern for the New Testament Church. It shook the Roman Empire. It was the tactical headquarters for God to spread the Gospel into other regions. The church was initiated by believers moved by the Holy Spirit.
When we look at Joel 2 we see two revivals – former rain and latter rain.
Joel 2:23
So shout for joy, you sons of Zion,
And rejoice in the LORD your God;
For He has given you the early rain for your vindication.
And He has brought down for you the rain,
The early and latter rain as before.
Former rain was what happened in Acts 2. We are expecting a latter rain in our time when God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Acts 2 was a partial fulfillment of the prophecy. The complete fulfillment will be in our days when God will pour out His Spirit on all people. This is scripture.
Historically looking, God began to restore the different aspects of the Church from 1500s. Last 50 or 60 years, He began to restore the preeminence of the five-fold ministry.
When the five-fold ministry was established in Acts, it was to build up the body of Christ. In the last days, the restoration of the five-fold ministry is to rise an All Saints Movement.
It is a movement that involves normal, ordinary people doing great exploits for God. Smith Wigglesworth prophesied that the last days’ Church will be made of nameless and faceless generations doing great exploits for God empowered by the Holy Spirit. Scripture, prophecies, and church history point towards this one direction. A great movement of ordinary believers doing great exploits for God empowered by the Holy Spirit.
So the way we structure our Church must facilitate Holy Spirit to have access and use every life.
Key examples are the church at Antioch and the Thessalonian Church.
Let’s focus on the church of Antioch today. We want to look at the structure and culture of the Antioch Church.
Acts 11: 25, 26 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Grounding people in the Word of God by systematic teaching
It had Supernatural experiences and did great exploits, but it needed grounding in the Word. Only grounding in the world produced inner life. Great revivals like Lakeland revival, Brownsville revival et cetera, happened. But they didn’t sustain because people were not grounded in the Word. For example, in Northeast Indian Christian revivals, the quality of 2nd and 3rd Generation Christians shows they were not grounded in the Word of God. Hence the revivals fizzled out.
Acts 19:9,10 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took the disciples away with him, and had discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Paul spoke, discussed, and persuaded.
Find a way to ground the word. Discuss the word with a set of questions. It will show where they are, what they understood, and what they have got. Teach basic doctrine systematically and not what we feel.
After grounding, they were first called Christians in Antioch. All who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord. That was a direct result of what Paul was doing.
The key thing in all this is we have to evaluate where our people are in their understanding of the Word. Example: My church people in Haryana are simple people. But I want to see what they are learning from the Word in their study. I want to see whether He is giving them revelation; whether they are growing in their understanding of scriptures. So every month, I have given them ten questions to answer. They send their replies based on those ten questions every month. From that, I can see how they are reading the Word, what they are picking up, and what God is speaking to them. It gives me a pulse of what is happening in the Word life of my leaders.
They have developed their style of evaluating their people. Most of their church members are uneducated or illiterate people. So they have a way of testing the waters of their people.
Two key points we must remember in the building is
(i) We must be intentional. When we sow, we must know what we are trying to achieve
(ii) We must have a way to evaluate the progress of our building, if not we don’t know what is happening among our people
Openness and obedience to the flow of the Holy Spirit
Acts 19:27-30 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30And they did this, sending it with Barnabas and Saul to the elders.
So the 2nd structure that was in this church was the openness and obedience to the Holy Spirit. They allowed the Spirit of God to have 1st place. There was freedom for the gifts of God to flow and bring direction and set values for how they operate. Antioch became a resource center because they allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them, and He kept them a step ahead of what was about to happen.
Plurality of Leadership
Acts 13:1 Now there were prophets and teachers at Antioch, in the church that was there: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Every Church cannot have a five-fold ministry. But it is possible to have a plurality of leadership. There must be a structure for the leadership to function and grow. New leaders must be raised. Leadership is a team effort.
The problem I face in India is the mindset of autocratic leadership. One man has a say over everything. The Indian pastors’ posture is “whatever you say we will listen and do.” That could be out of respect and honor. But in our country, we have consultative leadership. We want everyone’s inputs.
A leader is only as strong as his team.
In King David’s team, others were present who were better warriors than him. David learned the art of garnering and building them into a team.
In your church, there may be people who are good at teaching, preaching, planning, prayer, evangelism, and many other things. You must know how to garner them and bring them together as a team. Spiritually they may not have grown, but they may have the skill to advance the church. Remember, every person God brings to the church carries something to advance the church. Suddenly God may start to move this fellow who was previously nothing. The Spirit of God comes upon him and raises him up. If you have a rigid leadership structure, you may put a stop to what God wants to do in your church.
Remember, as a leader, you don’t know everything; you are not good at everything. So God would have placed people in your life who would cover those areas so that together you are impenetrable.
Acts 13:2,3 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for the work to which I have called them.” 3Then, when they had fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Every endeavor was Spirit-led. The leadership team was seeking God corporately to see what He wanted to do. In Singapore, in our church leadership, we have this culture. During September, December, or January, we go out somewhere and spend some time praying and seeking God’s face; seeking what God wants to accomplish in our church. We all share, consolidate and put together a big picture of what God corporately spoke to us. You can model this in your church too. Bring together mature people who can hear God, pray together with you, and pray for the church.
Even if they are simple believers who don’t know anything, you invite them and let them watch you. You are building a culture, putting structure into their lives. That is the pattern of the original church.
Complete freedom to function in their gifts
Another pattern we notice in the church of Antioch is each ministry gift functioned in maximum capacity with no intimidation. Each operated in their gift with no fear and full freedom. They were able to minister together as a team, and they were able to focus on Kingdom purpose. Even when the Holy Spirit said, “Send your senior leaders away,” they were able to obey and release them.
Why is this structure important? In the coming days amid darkness and deception, we need to hear and be led by Holy Spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God.
The Son of God will manifest in the sons of God.
Papa jonathan david
When all-natural ways close up, He will lead us supernaturally. That is why as a church we must be structured so that God can speak through anybody and He leads us through.
If you go deeper and study why the believers led a radical lifestyle, you will see it is due to the depth of the work of the Holy Spirit in their individual lives.
Let me leave you with two questions
- What are the marks of a spirit-led Church?
- What changes do you need to make in your leadership structure for the Holy Spirit to move freely in your church?
In Joshua 5, before the Israelites entered Jericho, God gave them some instructions. In verse 1, He talks about the morale of the enemy. Verses 2 – 9 He talks about circumcision and consecration.
Let’s focus on Verses 13-15.
Joshua 5: 13-15 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” And the captain of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Joshua encounters the Captain of Hosts. That was Jesus. The important principle is Joshua was not enlisting God into his battle. God was enlisting Joshua into His battle because He is the supreme commander. That is why He said, “I am the Captain of the army of the Lord.”
The battle belongs to Him.
God was assuring him of His presence and protection. Joshua was near Jericho probably gauging the enemy’s territory. God comes into the picture and tells him – “Battle is not yours, it is mine. I will be with you.”
‘Take off your sandals’ is a picture of submission to the Lord’s authority.
So, we must know who is leading us into battle. In the Old Testament, sometimes Jesus appeared, sometimes angels appeared; sometimes God Himself led them into battle. In the New Testament church, it is the Holy Spirit.
That’s why the church of Antioch was powerful. Every aspect was led by the Holy Spirit.
We must know who is leading our church into battle. We must be sure that our efforts will be paid off because we follow Him – Our Unstoppable God.
Rehoboth 