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Thursday 23 December 2021

The Ministry of the Word

Spiritual ministry flows from the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, and which equips the man of God for every good work:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 MKJV All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work.

Hebrews 4:12 MKJV For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Ephesians 6:17 MKJV ... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,

The apostles saw the ministry of the Word and prayer as their two top priorities (Acts 6:2-4). And teaching the word was the main job of the church elders appointed by Timothy and Titus (1 Timothy 2:7, 3:2, Titus 1:7-9) as well as the apostolic leaders themselves (1 Timothy 4:11-13, 2 Timothy 1:11, 2:24, 4:2).

The central focus of the ministry of the Word is Christ, His character and His commandments. Even the Old Testament Scriptures are about Christ (Luke 24:27,44; 1 Corinthians 1:10-11, 2 Timothy 3:15). We should be talking about Jesus a lot!

The focus of the NT is on the four gospels which set forth Christ. Acts and the epistles then explain the message of the gospel and its spread among the nations and correct misunderstandings about Christ, His character and His commandments. The apostles saw proclaiming Christ and Him crucified as their central, even only, task (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Other issues are secondary (though they may be important). There are brief passages about church order, leadership, ethical and moral issues and family life. There is almost no teaching about politics.

The ministry of the Word involves the plain setting forth of Christ and of His salvation. It is not about human philosophy, or politics or the ideas of the age. It is not even about social issues such as abortion or family or health care, as urgent as these may seem.

Unless we teach Christ first and Christ deeply these other issues will be addressed in vain. Without Christ's example of agape love and His commands regarding relationships all our teaching on family becomes futile. Paul's epistles always outlined the doctrine of Christ first and foremost before addressing the practical issues of the Church.

The ministry of the Word is not about theological speculation or even about 'bible knowledge' (as in bible trivia quizzes). The Pharisees had tremendous bible knowledge, and the scribes and Saduccees were theologians, but they did not understand Christ!

John 5:39-40 MKJV You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. And they are the ones witnessing of Me, (40) and you will not come to Me that you might have life.

We should not be learning the Bible just for the sake of learning the Bible. Our teaching should come out of the Scriptures but should point to Christ Jesus (as the Scriptures themselves do). We should aim at producing growing faith in Christ and not just at imparting knowledge. Our goal in teaching is salvation and maturity in Christ Jesus and full obedience to His commandments:

Colossians 1:27-29 MKJV (27) For to them God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, (28) whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (29) For which I also labor, striving according to the working of Him who works in me in power.

Governments will change and the systems of this world will pass away but the Word of the Lord will stand forever. Therefore teaching Christ from the Word is the most important thing we can do because it has eternal consequences, life for some and death for others:

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 EMTV (14) Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and making known through us the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. (15) For we are the fragrance of Christ to God among those being saved, and among those perishing. (16) To some we are the fragrance of death leading to death, but to others the fragrance of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? (17) For we are not as the rest, corrupting the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

The apostle Paul trembles as he contemplates the ministry of the Word crying out: And who is sufficient for these things? The ministry of the Word is a high and holy task, not a means of commercial profit (2 Corinthians 2:17 above). It is something to be pursued with purity and integrity and with the awareness that teachers experience a much stricter judgment (James 3:1).

The ministry of the Word is primary because it is the ministry that causes faith to grow in the hearts of believers.

Romans 10:17 EMTV So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

And without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

The other spiritual gifts are useful but they must operate in tandem with the ministry of the Word. For instance, healing the body without proclaiming Christ is just a mere delaying of people's entrance into a Christ-less eternity.

Even prayer depends on the ministry of the Word and the intercessors knowledge of the power and the promises of God.

Finally, we must address the issue of how the Holy Spirit works together with the proclamation of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit's role is to glorify Christ:

John 16:13-15 MKJV However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears, He shall speak. And He will announce to you things to come. (14) He will glorify Me, for He will receive of Mine and will announce it to you. (15) All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and will announce it to you.

And the Holy Spirit is the author of the Holy Scriptures:

2 Peter 1:21 MKJV For prophecy was not borne at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke being borne along by the Holy Spirit.

Thus the spiritual ministry of the Word will involve active cooperation with the Holy Spirit as He seeks to glorify Christ. This will come about as we, with renewed minds, study the Scriptures which are the textbook of the Holy Spirit. As we dig into the Bible the Holy Spirit will 'take of Mine' (the things of God in the pages of the Scriptures) and reveal them to us. Praise be to God!

The ministry of the Word is at its best when it connects with the true spiritual needs of the audience and leads to spiritual outcomes such as repentance, conversion and growth in love. The ministry of the Word should have an 'edge' to it like that of a 'two-edged sword' and be able to cut to the heart and divide joints from marrow and soul from spirit. It should be like a healing scalpel of the Holy Spirit.

The final phrase here is a big clue on how to be effective in spiritual ministry. Aim to be one who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart and who speaks to them. Once you know what people are thinking in their hearts then you can craft a biblical response:

Matthew 9:2-8 MKJV And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Child, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you. (3) And lo, some of the scribes said within themselves, This one blasphemes. (4) And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? (5) For which is easier? To say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise and walk! (6) But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed and go to your house. (7) And he arose and departed to his house. (8) But when the crowds saw, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Jesus a) saw faith in the hearts of the friends and offered forgiveness of sins and b) knew what the scribes were thinking in their hearts. In response to this He healed the paralytic as a demonstration that the Son of Man indeed had the power to forgive sins.

Moses and the prophets also addressed what people were thinking within themselves:

Deuteronomy 7:17-19 MKJV (17) If you shall say in your heart, These nations are more than I; how can I throw them out? (18) You shall not be afraid of them, but shall well remember what Jehovah your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. ...

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 MKJV (17) and so that you might not say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth. (18) But you shall remember Jehovah your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, so that He may confirm His covenant which He has sworn to your fathers, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 9:4-5 MKJV Do not speak in your heart, after Jehovah your God has cast them out from before you, saying: For my righteousness, Jehovah has brought me in to possess this land. But for the wickedness of these nations, Jehovah your God drives them out from before you. (5) Not for your righteousness, or for the uprightness of your heart, do you go to possess their land. But for the wickedness of these nations Jehovah your God drives them out from before you, so that He may perform the Word which Jehovah swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Psalms 35:25-26 MKJV Let them not say in their hearts, Aha! Our Soul! Let them not say, We have swallowed him up. (26) Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor together, those who magnify themselves over me.

Isaiah 47:8-9 MKJV Now then hear this, O pleasure seeker, who lives carelessly; who says in her heart, I am, and none else is; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children. (9) But these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come on you in their fullness for the multitude of your sorceries, and for the great power of your enchantments.

Zephaniah 1:12-13 MKJV And it shall be in that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled on their lees; who say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, nor will He do evil. (13) And their goods shall become a prize and their houses a waste. They shall also build houses, but not live in them, and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.

Matthew 3:8-9 MKJV Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance; (9) and do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Revelation 18:7-8 MKJV As much as she has glorified herself and has lived in luxury, so much torment and sorrow give her. For she says in her heart, I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow; and I do not see mourning at all. (8) Therefore her plagues will come in one day, death and mourning and famine. And she will be consumed with fire, for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

There are many other, much longer examples such as the lament over the Satanic pride of the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:1-14) and Nebuchadnezzar's fall in Daniel chapter 4 because of the self-exalting thoughts within his heart. Over and over again God judges people and addresses His Word to the 'thoughts and intents of the heart'.

So our words as preachers and teachers should be aimed at what people are thinking in their hearts. We should aim to speak to their fears and anxieties with words of faith and reassurance, to their doubts with evidence for the faith, to their sorrows with words of comfort, to their wicked thoughts with rebuke, to their lusts with exhortations to self-control, and to their coldness, slothfulness and apathy with words of warning about falling away.

Unless we are speaking to the heart we are totally missing the mark. And if we are to speak to the heart we must first listen to God and what He has to say. And we must listen to those whom we are ministering to so that we will know them and their situation. It is only after we have heard that we can speak.

The prophets 'stood in the counsel of the Lord' (Jeremiah 23:18) in order to get a word to speak. They listened for a download from Heaven. It was only after much listening that they would come forth with a powerful message :

Jeremiah 23:29 MKJV Is not My Word like a fire? says Jehovah; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

So the ministry of the Word involves:

a) Loving the Lord and knowing His will b) Loving your audience and knowing the thoughts and intents hearts c) Speaking the truth you heard from God in ways that the audience you are speaking to can grasp clearly, so that spiritual results ensue.

Ok, you might be asking “What is the difference between the thoughts of the heart and the intents of the heart?” The thoughts of the heart are simply what you are thinking in your inner man. This can be something like Nebuchadnezzar's “Behold Babylon, that I have made...” The intents of heart are your plans, schemes and will. They are what you intend to do, either good or evil:

Psalms 10:2-3 MKJV The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; let them be taken in the plans that they have imagined. (3) For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, and blesses the covetous whom Jehovah despises.

Psalms 20:4-5 MKJV May He grant you according to your own heart, and fulfill all your plans. (5) We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up banners; may Jehovah fulfill all your prayers.

Good preaching and teaching aims to speak to people at their point of interior spiritual need. This is different from their felt need or their perceived need. Most people, if asked, will tell you that their felt or perceived need is something such as: finances, good health, a partner, resolution of a family conflict, success, a new car, to pay off the house or to fulfill their vision and destiny. But these acutely felt needs are seldom their true spiritual needs. God may fulfill these desires as well (for they are normal good desires) but these are not the primary needs of the human soul.

The true spiritual needs are things such as: repentance, faith, salvation, grace, peace, a better prayer life, a more loving heart, patience with others, endurance, forbearance, knowledge of God's will, self-control, wisdom, sanctification, hope and a deeper anointing in ministry. Our preaching and teaching need to be aimed at these second set of needs. If these spiritual needs are being met then the other (felt and perceived) needs will often be taken care of along the way. For instance wisdom, a more loving heart and greater patience with others will help end most family conflicts.

We need insight into the Scriptures, insight into people, and insight into God's will for those people, at this time. When those things come together in our teaching we can wield the sword of the Spirit and tear down powers and principalities that are lodged both in human hearts and in the spiritual realms.

The spiritual ministry of the Word involves diligent, careful and prayerful study:

2 Timothy 2:15 MKJV Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

Every good bible teacher I know has a house full of books, commentaries, different bible versions, maps, bible dictionaries and language helps for Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. There is simply no getting away from the requirement to study. Paul's request to Timothy was to 'bring... the books and parchments ' (2 Timothy 4:13) indicating that of all Paul's possessions these were among the most vital. It also indicates that Paul was still studying even in his old age. (2 Timothy was written just before his death).

2 Timothy 4:13 MKJV When you come, bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

We are to be earnest students of God's Word. We are to rightly divide the Word of Truth. There is to be scholarly integrity in the process. We cannot just make it up as we go along in a fanciful way. Inspiration does not excuse carelessness.

False teachers tend to fall into two different camps: a) Firstly the liberals who deny the Scriptures in the name of reason and insert their own humanistic philosophies. b) Secondly the cult leaders who are fond of their own personal inspiration and who over-ride the plain meaning of the Scriptures with their imaginations and dubious 'revelations'.

As different as the personalities of these people may be they have this in common – they refuse to carefully, prayerfully submit their minds to the task of understanding the Scriptures as the final, inspired, inerrant and authoritative word of God.

Spiritual ministry should not neglect serious bible study. Prophecy, tongues, words of wisdom and knowledge are good. But unless we commit ourselves to serious diligent study of the Word we can quickly go off track and end up preaching 'chaff':

Jeremiah 23:28-29 MKJV The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream. And he who has My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? says Jehovah. (29) Is not My Word like a fire? says Jehovah; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

We need both the Spirit and the Word, prayer and study, inspiration and perspiration, revelation and application - trembling with a holy carefulness based on the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 MKJV (10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the things done through the body, according to that which he has done, whether good or bad. (11) Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men...

The first duty of the bible teacher is to be accurate and truthful. Solid Christian lives can only be built upon the Truth, spoken in love:

Ephesians 4:15-16 MKJV But that you, speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the Head, even Christ; (16) from whom the whole body, fitted together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of each part, producing the growth of the body to the edifying of itself in love.

1 Timothy 2:7 MKJV To this I am ordained a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie), a teacher of the nations, in faith and truth.

In the light of yesterday's devotional about speaking to the 'thoughts and intents of the heart' and the previous devotionals about Christ being the essence and center of all spiritual ministry, we can arrive at the conclusion that the ministry of the Word involves:

Being a diligent earnest workman, who rightly, prayerfully, lovingly and truthfully divides the Word of God, so that Christ is clearly presented to the hearts and minds of the audience, addressing the thoughts and intents of the heart like a two-edged sword.

We need to speak the truth in love. Though rebuke is sometimes necessary, inappropriate harshness does not win souls. While spiritual ministry should be accurate and to the point it should not be burdensome, overly heavy, or humiliating.

Isaiah 42:3 MKJV A bruised reed He shall not break, and a smoking wick He shall not quench; He shall bring out judgment to truth.

We need to study not just what we should teach (as in the subject matter), but also how, when and where we should teach these things (timing of the Word, curriculum design, teaching methodology, use of media and the Internet etc) as well as who we should be addressing (teaching for a specific groups such as teenagers, bible students, leaders, non-Christians, etc) and even why we should be teaching these things in the first place (what is our philosophy, vision, mission calling etc.).

For instance you may decide to do a simplified outline and summary of the book of Romans for new believers, that are teenagers and you will do this in print and upload it to the Internet and make it available as an upload on mobile phones because you are a youth pastor and you are called to reach post-modern Western youth with a deeper understanding of the gospel. You will do this prayerfully and carefully and you will not compromise on the truth along the way.

You don't need access to a pulpit in order to teach the Word. You can teach individuals who you disciple, or small groups, or even online. Just start wherever you can start!

The requirement to be a good workman, assiduously seeking the Truth means that highly speculative areas of the faith should be left well alone:

1 Timothy 1:3-4 MKJV Even as I begged you to remain at Ephesus, when I was going to Macedonia, that you might charge some that they teach no other doctrine, (4) nor to give heed to fables and endless genealogies (which provide doubts rather than the nurture of God in faith).

1 Timothy 4:6-7 MKJV Having suggested these things to the brothers, you shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the Words of Faith and by the good doctrine which you have followed. (7) But refuse profane and old-womanish tales, and exercise yourself to godliness.

2 Timothy 2:14-16 MKJV Put them in memory of these things, charging them before the Lord not to dispute about words to no profit, to the subverting of the hearers. (15) Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. (16) But shun profane, vain babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.

Titus 1:13-14 MKJV This witness is true; for which cause convict them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith, (14) not giving heed to Jewish myths and commandments of men, turning away from the truth.

We are to avoid myths, fables, legalism, commandments of men, disputes about words, endless genealogies, Internet rumors and wild tales, end time date-setting (see Acts 1:7) and the like.

We should also be sufficiently humble to not teach on areas which we do not yet understand. God does not ask you to be an instant expert on all things! Not many single people are able to teach well on marriage and very few married people are able to teach well on long-term singleness. Some books of the Bible (such as Job) are more difficult to teach on than others and some areas of theology take years to fully grasp. Faithful, careful, prayerful bible teaching involves teaching what we know, not what we do not know!

The ministry of the Word is a heavy responsibility (James 3:1,2) precisely because it is so vital to the growth of the Church. Wrong teaching can be incredibly destructive. We should teach as those who know they will have to give an account to Jesus for our words:

Matthew 12:35-37 MKJV A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings out evil things. (36) But I say to you that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. (37) For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.

If we are diligent, careful and craftsman-like in how we hand the Scriptures then we will be a workman that does not need to be ashamed. Diligence will save us from judgment, and from having our work burned up like chaff, straw, wood, hay or stubble. Studying to show ourselves approved may be hard work now, but it will be well worth it on that Day!

The Essence is Christ

The Essence is Christ

The essence of spiritual ministry is the Spirit of Christ and the character of Christ and the teaching of Christ. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone and the foundation upon which all spiritual ministry must be constructed:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 MKJV (10) According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let every man be careful how he builds on it. (11) For any other foundation can no one lay than the one being laid, who is Jesus Christ. (12) And if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, (13) each one's work shall be revealed. For the Day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try each one's work as to what kind it is. (14) If anyone's work which he built remains, he shall receive a reward. (15) If anyone's work shall be burned up, he shall suffer loss. But he shall be saved, yet so as by fire.

So we see two categories here: a) High quality ministry, built on Christ, work done in gold, silver and precious stones

b) Low quality ministry that is still Christian – building with wood, hay and stubble

Only the high quality ministry survives the fire of Judgment Day and receives a reward! The ministries of gold, silver and precious stones are those done carefully and faithfully using the materials of the Scriptures and the Spirit of God and refined in the fire of tested obedience.

The ministries of wood, hay and stubble are attempts to do Christian ministry with human strength. The people are believers but instead of using the Scriptures and the Spirit they try to take shortcuts. They attempt to build on Christ with human intellect and philosophy, or with business principles, politics and the strawy ideas of this world. A haystack can be made very large in a week and these methods can lead to large followings in a short period of time. But God does not think these ministries are worthy!

Even worse than ministries of straw, are false prophets and ministries of iniquity:

Matthew 7:21-23 MKJV Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. (22) Many will say to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful

works? (23) And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart from Me, those working lawlessness!

These are self-deluded and believe they are prophesying, casting out demons and doing mighty works when in fact they are not even Christians in the first place!!

They are full of the spirit of this world and Satan, the god of this world, loves them and lavishes money on them. While they believe they are ministering “In Jesus name” they are in fact they are just building their own name!! They are disobedient to God and are often full of pride, greed and adultery. They operate like selfish egotistical corporate executives rather than as followers of the cross.

Combining the two passages above, we find that there are three kinds of ministry:

a) High quality ministry that builds on Christ well and is rewarded.

b) Low quality ministry that still builds on Christ, but in an inferior way. God will burn the ministry up, but the person themselves will be saved.

c) Deceitful ministry, false prophets, and workers of iniquity who do not build on Christ in any way, shape or form - except 'in name only'. These false ministers are cast into Hell.

None of us wants to see our ministry go up in smoke on Judgment Day and none of us wants to be a worker of iniquity. So the question then becomes: “How do we build with gold, silver and precious stones?”

At the beginning of this study I said: “The essence of spiritual ministry is the Spirit of Christ and the character of Christ and the teaching of Christ.”

A ministry that works with gold, silver and precious stones will have the Spirit of Christ which is reflected in the Beatitudes and the Sermon On the Mount. Christ was lowly, meek, and humble and was never self-serving:

Matthew 11:28-30 MKJV Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

The Spirit of Christ is one of self-renunciation. Of leaving the world behind and even one's life behind in order to seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness:

Mark 8:34-37 MKJV And calling near the crowd with His disciples, He said to them, Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. (35) For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, he shall save it. (36) For what shall it profit a man

if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? (37) Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

A ministry that works with gold, silver and precious stones will seek to have the character of Christ and to follow in the footsteps of Christ who made Himself nothing, indeed who even made Himself a servant to all:

Matthew 20:25-28 MKJV But Jesus called them and said, You know that the rulers of the nations exercise dominion over them, and they who are great exercise authority over them. (26) However, it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. (27) And whoever desires to be chief among you, let him be your servant; (28) even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

And a ministry that works with gold, silver and precious stones will obey the teachings of Christ and all His commandments, especially the commandments about to loving God and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. The 'red letter' commands of the gospels will be taken very seriously indeed. The poor, the needy, the sick, the suffering, the stray sheep and the unsaved souls will be given priority. There will be honesty, integrity, grace and compassion. The tongue will speak right words and people will be treated well.

The obeying of Christ's commandments will fill the whole ministry from the lives of the top leadership down to the volunteer staff. There will be a sense that the entire ministry is a place of obedience, and is submitted wholly unto God. This may even require the senior leadership to lead lives of personal sacrifice and example. They know they have received freely and they will freely give.

When the Devil sees Christ he attacks. And if your spiritual ministry is glorifying Jesus, it will be attacked relentlessly. Your faith, like gold, silver and precious stones, is tested by fire (1 Peter 1:7) and some of the most godly ministries have faced severe trials:

1 Peter 4:12-14 MKJV Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which is to try you, as though a strange thing happened to you, (13) but rejoice according as you are partakers of Christ's suffering, so that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. (14) If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of God and of glory rests on you. Truly according to them, He is blasphemed, but according to you He is glorified.

A ministry that is full of glory and of the Spirit of Christ is humble, worshipful, reverent, bold, truthful, long-suffering, gracious, God-fearing and free of ego. People tremble at God's Word and love the Lord with all their heart and mind and strength and they care about each other first and foremost.

A ministry that does not care much about its own people is in serious spiritual error. The ministry objectives or ministry finances are in no way more important than the health and spiritual well-being of those who work for the organization. The need for

staff commitment must be balanced with a proper duty of care by the leadership. (And I speak as one in leadership).

True spiritual ministry flows from the Spirit of Christ, is done in the character of Christ, and proceeds out of reverent obedience to all the commandments of Jesus Christ. These Christ-centered things must be the core of all we do, the essence of why we exist and the ethos and “flavor” of our church, our ministry or our missions organization.

If your ministry has wandered off-course, bring it back to center. Determine to get rid of ego and worldliness and to focus on full Christ-like obedience to God.

Ministry of the Impossible

All spiritual ministry is impossible to the natural man. It seems quite obvious that the natural man cannot cast out demons, prophesy, heal the sick or cleanse a leper. But the problem lies much deeper than that because the natural man is fundamentally unable even to understand the Scriptures or to discern spiritual things:

1 Corinthians 2:14 MKJV (14) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Some aspects of the natural man persist in us after conversion. We live in a skeptical, unbelieving world, and at times this strongly influences us. Our minds need to be renewed so they believe all that they should believe! The effect of this is that until our faith matures many aspects of spiritual ministry are going to seem foolish, frightening or impossible. This is normal and it should be overcome with prayer, bible study and godly determination.

However if we give in to our hesitation, and flee from attempting the 'impossible' then the results are spiritually disastrous. We will see difficult people as 'impossible to convert' so we give up on evangelism, or 'impossible to heal' so we give up praying for the sick, or 'impossible to change' so we cease speaking prophetic truth when morally required to do so.

If we continue on in this process of giving way to our hesitations and unbelief then we end up with an entirely man-made religion which seeks to replace the risk of dependence on the Holy Spirit with the safety of institutions, committees, rules, laws and programs. Man-made religion ends up converting people to itself and not to God:

Matthew 23:15 MKJV Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you compass sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

The cure for this man-made religion is an aggressive faith in the God who does the impossible. Christian faith is alive, dynamic and trusts God to turn up and minister in His Name. Christian faith actively attempts what seems impossible to man. It is not intimidated by the heavenly calling but rather gladly enters in. True Christian faith is gracious and freeing and needs no bureaucracy to justify it. It is justified by its deeds, done in the power of God alone.

Such faith tells us that what is impossible with man, is still possible with God:

Matthew 19:26 MKJV But Jesus looked on them and said to them, With men this

is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

In other verses Jesus makes it plain that he expected His disciples to succeed in

things that other people considered impossible:

Matthew 17:20 MKJV ….For truly I say to you, If you have faith like a grain of

mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move from here to there. And it shall

move. And nothing shall be impossible to you.

Mark 9:23 MKJV Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to

him who believes.

Mark 11:23-24 MKJV For truly I say to you that whoever shall say to this

mountain, Be moved and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but

shall believe that what he said shall occur, he shall have whatever he said. (24)

Therefore I say to you, All things, whatever you ask, praying, believe that you shall

receive them, and it will be to you.

Often when Jesus gave His disciples a task it was unachievable by natural human

means. Some examples: feeding the 5000; asking Peter to walk on water;

commanding twelve men to make disciples of all nations; and sending out the 70 to

heal the sick, cast out demons and proclaim the gospel.

God thinks big thoughts. And if you want to be used by God then you will have to

join Him in thinking big! This is an absolute. No person who was guarded, cautious,

or small-minded made it into the Hebrews 11 Hall of Fame! In fact millions of those

kind of people 'fell in the Wilderness'. Only two made it through – Joshua and

Caleb, and they were the ones who believed in doing the impossible (with God's

help)!

In fact all real ministry involves attempting the impossible! Even bible teaching!

Even successful preaching! Because people are so stubborn that no life can be

deeply changed by mere words alone or mere philosophy alone. You cannot change

a single life, even your own life, unless the Holy Spirit comes alongside to help you.

Now in ministry we continually hit a psychological wall whereby we think “I'd like to

do that good thing, maybe even God is calling me to do that good thing, but I

simply cannot do it because....” (fill in the blanks with whatever you feel that you

are lacking – time, money, people, resources, energy, wisdom, skill, support from

others, human permission to get started etc.)

However, God's calling is God's enabling. It is up to you to believe and up to God to

supply. God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supply.

You do not need an office before you can start ministering – start at home. You do

not need permission from a church or a pastor to teach the Word – just start

teaching online. You do not need to hire a stadium before you can evangelize, just

start witnessing to those whom the Lord brings your way. Once you start out on

doing the impossible then you will find the people and resources and wisdom will

come to you from all sorts of different directions.

Have big dreams but be content to start small at first. That is what the parable of

the mustard-seed is all about:

Luke 13:18-19 MKJV And He said, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what

shall I compare it? (19) It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and

threw into his garden. And it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of the air

lodged in its branches.

This ministry of the impossible is a ministry of great boldness, for faith results in

boldness of speech and of lifestyle:

Acts 4:31 MKJV And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled

was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word

of God with boldness.

Ephesians 6:19-20 MKJV And pray for me, that utterance may be given to me,

that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, (20)

for which I am an ambassador in bonds; so that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought

to speak.

Indeed God has not called us to timidity:

2 Timothy 1:7 GNB For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid;

instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control.

The ministry of the impossible requires that we put aside our timid reservations and

instead become bold, powerful, believers who step out in faith to do the great

works that God, in His large-mindedness, has prepared beforehand for us to do

(Ephesians 2:10). In the words of a business guru you should have a BHAG (a Big,

Hairy, Audacious Goal). You should have a 'conquering Canaan' mentality. You

should be a Joshua or a Caleb.

If you are called to be a bible-teacher, decide to teach the nations and start

working towards the biggest possible teaching goal that you can ever imagine.

If you are called to be a pastor, think about how many churches you will plant. Not

just one or two, but perhaps hundreds. Think of how to reach your whole

community and not just 200 or 500 or even 10,000 members of it.

If you have a healing ministry think of healing crusades, of having a healing center,

of training others in healing ministry and so on.

If you are an evangelist think of using every means at your disposal – Internet

evangelism, testimonies on YouTube, radio, local cable TV, personal witnessing,

tracts, crusades, showing the Jesus film and so on...

Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 1:6). And true Abraham-like

faith attempts things that the world considers “impossible” (Romans 4:17-22).

John Edmiston

This Article – Ministry of the Impossible is © Copyright AIBI-International 2009

This article may be freely reproduced for non-profit ministry purposes but may not be sold in any way and

must be reproduced “as is” without alteration. Just e-mail us at johned@aibi.ph

Rivers of Living Water

Spiritual ministry depends on the supply of the Spirit. In times of great faith and revival spiritual ministry flourishes. In times of unbelief and apostasy, spiritual ministry is almost unbearably difficult.

The first, and often the most difficult step is to believe that God wants to FREELY give us an abundant supply of the Holy Spirit:

Luke 11:13 MKJV If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

God gives the Spirit as a Father gives food to a child, that is freely, for the asking. The child asks for bread or an egg and the Father gives the appropriate food. The Spirit is given 'to those who ask Him'. And we are to ask as needy children ask when they are hungry; humbly, yet insistently – trusting in the goodness of our Father.

John 3:34 MKJV For He whom God has sent speaks the Words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

God is infinite and gracious and He has no need to be stingy, nor does He even have any desire to be stingy. In fact He is a God of abundant goodness (John 10:10). He doesn't give His gifts drop by drop, cautiously watching to see if everyone 'has just the right amount' as if it is a pie that has to be carefully cut into the right sized pieces. God does not have to give the Spirit out in such small careful doses. His supply is abundant. He will graciously give a mighty empowering of the Spirit to all who ask for it.

John 4:10-14 MKJV Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me to drink, you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water. (11) The woman said to Him, Sir, you have no vessel, and the well is deep. From where then do you have that living water? (12) Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his children and his cattle? (13) Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Jesus promised the living water of the Holy Spirit to the Samaritan woman as a completely gracious act that had no regard for her nationality, her broken lifestyle

or her theological misunderstandings. And Jesus told her that if she drank at His well it would not be a static well but a spring, an abundant supply, continuously springing up into everlasting life. There was no sense of her having to earn such a great blessing.

John 7:37-39 MKJV And in the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (39) (But He spoke this about the Spirit, which they who believed on Him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.)

During the great feast the priest would fill a golden pitcher with water from the Fountain of Siloam, and bring it back to the temple amid music and joyful shouts. Advancing to the altar of burnt-offering, at the cry of the people, “Lift up thy hand!” he would empty the pitcher toward the west, and toward the east a cup of wine, while the people chanted, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

Jesus stands up on the last day of the Feast, after this has happened seven times on previous days and declares: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Jesus is clearly referring to the water-pouring ceremony described above and John interprets it as reference to the Holy Spirit. The implications are that:

a) All who believe will have an abundant supply of the Holy Spirit b) The 'rivers' of Christ are immeasurably greater than the golden pitchers of Judaism c) We will joyfully draw water from the wells of salvation that are in Christ.

This abundant supply of the Holy spirit comes to 'those who believe' and this is backed up by Galatians which tells us that we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith and not through any religious works 'of the Law':

Galatians 3:2, 5 MKJV This only I would learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing of faith? ... (5) Then He supplying the Spirit to you and working powerful works in you, is it by works of the law, or by hearing of faith?

Galatians 3:14 MKJV so that the blessing of Abraham might be to the nations in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Anyone who thirsts can take of the water of life freely:

Isaiah 55:1 MKJV Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Revelation 21:6 MKJV And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the Water of Life freely.

Revelation 22:17 MKJV And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let the one hearing say, Come! And let the one who is thirsty come. And he willing, let him take of the Water of Life freely.

So we see that the Holy Spirit is supplied freely, abundantly and without restriction to those who believe, who ask as a little child, and who thirst for the Living Water of God.

You don't need any money, or to be of a certain nationality or to have your life together. God freely and graciously supplies the Holy Spirit through faith to the Gentiles, to the Samaritan woman, to the spiritually thirsty and so on. It is the poor in spirit that inherit the Kingdom of God. There is no reason to doubt or to hold back. God wants all Christians to flow mightily in the Spirit and that includes you.

Satan tries to convince us that we do not deserve an abundant supply of the Holy Spirit, but God tells us that our sins are forgiven and that His supply is by grace alone. Another lie is that the supply of the Holy Spirit is reserved for special people such as ministers and missionaries. But the Scriptures tell us that God supplies to all as a heavenly father, giving freely to him who asks and him who believes. A third lie is that the mighty works of the Holy Spirit are for another time or for another generation, but Peter refutes this on the Day of Pentecost:

Acts 2:38-39 MKJV Then Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.

The Holy Spirit is the power behind all truly spiritual ministry and He is given freely to those who thirst and who believe and who come to God asking to be filled with the Holy Ghost each day:

Ephesians 5:18-20 MKJV And do not be drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, (19) speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; (20) always giving thanks for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Enjoy God! Rejoice in Jesus! Ask for the full abundance of the Holy Spirit!

Good Works, Guidance and Spiritual Destiny

As God's workmanship, we are created both to be good and to do good. We are saved by faith though grace, for a good purpose. And not just for any old good purpose, but for certain good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to do:

Ephesians 2:8-10 MKJV For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should boast. (10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

Psalms 139:16 ASV Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

God has created our days and He has also created the good works that we are supposed to fill our days with. He brings to us a discouraged person so that we can encourage them, or a penitent sinner so that we can lead them to Christ, or an eager bible student so that we can teach them or a sick person so that we can heal them or a small child so that we can love her or a youth so we can be a role model for him. Our day to day interactions at work, at home and in the ministry bring us hundreds of opportunities to glorify God.

Now, as I see it there are three main ways that God guides us into good works:

1. Through circumstances placed right in front of us by God which we in turn respond to out of our Christian character and conscience. For instance God sends us a hungry person so we just automatically feed them or a lonely person so we automatically befriend them. This is just so much a part of us that we hardly notice it: Matthew 25:34-40 MKJV Then the King shall say to those on His right hand, Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (35) For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; (36) I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. (37) Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? Or thirsty, and gave You drink? (38) When did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and clothed You? (39) Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? (40) And the King shall answer and

say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me.

This compassion flows from the normal agape love lifestyle of the Spirit-filled Christian:

1 John 3:16-20 ISV This is how we have come to know love: Christ gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers. (17) Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him? (18) Little children, we must stop loving in word and in tongue, but instead love in action and in truth. (19) And this is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be able to establish our hearts in his presence. (20) If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.

2. We also guided into good works as a result of our calling in Christ. These good works are performed in a deliberate and intentional fashion through the normal daily functioning of our special spiritual gift e.g. pastoring, evangelism or teaching:

2 Timothy 4:2-5 MKJV preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. …. But you watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fully carry out your ministry.

Timothy's ministry flowed not so much out of the reflex actions of conscience as from the struggle to fulfill his calling in Christ. Timothy was guided by his calling as to what to do each day. For instance Timothy was to do the work of an evangelist and preach the word 'in-season and out-of-season' without regard as to whether it seemed to be effective at the time.

3. Finally we receive guidance concerning good works as a result of communication from God. These are the initiatives of Heaven we have been speaking about. These are the times when the Holy Spirit takes charge so that we are in the right place at the right time, doing the right things, with the right people and getting the right results. This kind of guidance sometime takes us into new or difficult or unusual territory. A biblical example would be Jonah preaching to Nineveh or Ananias going to pray for Saul so that the church persecutor could see and be filled with the Holy Spirit. These were not immediately obvious things for either of them to do and so required special communication from God. God's special communication, the 'initiatives of heaven' , can also be used to properly direct how a ministry calling is to be carried out: Acts 16:9-10 MKJV And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A certain man of Macedonia stood, begging him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us! (10) And after he saw the vision, we immediately tried to go into Macedonia, gathering that the Lord had called us in order to preach the gospel to them.

All three of the above ways of being guided into doing good works are necessary. We are to be full of agape love and of good character and conscience, we are to work diligently at our calling as faithful stewards of the grace of God and we are to hear God's special communication directing us into specific good works.

If we fail to listen to God's guidance through these means, then we will fail to do the good works God has called us to and we will miss our spiritual destiny. If instead of agape love, we are full of selfishness - then we will not do many good works. If we are lazy in our ministry calling then we will miss great opportunities to glorify God. And if we are not listening to the initiatives of Heaven then we will miss the 'tactical' opportunities.

If one person fails to do the good works that they have been assigned to do, then in turn that can, and often does, affect others. Hudson Taylor told the story of how he had twenty struggling missions stations (I think they were on the China / Tibet border). When he went back to England he recruited twenty churches and prayer bands, one for each of the missions stations. There were breakthroughs in nineteen of the mission stations but one remained obstinately difficult and 'heartbreak territory' for those ministering there. He was greatly puzzled by this and on his next trip back to England he checked with the churches who had pledged to pray for the mission stations. Nineteen had prayed faithfully, but one had not done so, and that one was the one assigned to the station that saw no spiritual breakthrough. Many other stories can be told like this. When we are selfish, lazy or not listening for the Spirit's voice it can end up affecting large portions of the body of Christ.

You have a spiritual destiny. You have good works that God has foreordained that you should walk in, and your days were planned out even before you were born. Are you going to enter in to God's plan for your life? Or are you going to obstinately refuse it?

To enter into God's plan you must develop a good character that is full of agape love, and you must become faithful, courageous, diligent and strong in your God-given calling, and you must listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit directing you at the tactical level about what to say and what to do.

Ephesians 3:20-21 MKJV Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (21) to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, forever. Amen.

The Initiatives of Heaven

The phrase 'the initiatives of Heaven' is one I have borrowed from Dennis Walker of Dunamis ARC ministry in Las Vegas Nevada. It is a way of describing the reality that spiritual ministry proceeds from the heavenly realms and is 100% God's initiative not ours. Our task is to cooperate with God in the work of the ministry.

Almost by definition, God takes the initiative in spiritual ministry. The Holy Spirit is in charge before, during, and after the ministry session. It is not up to us to make the plans or to take the initiative. It is up to us to wait on God in prayer to see what He wants us to do – then move forward in obedience to that prompting. We see this principle operating in Paul's ministry in Acts 16:

Acts 16:6-10 MKJV And coming through the Phrygian and the Galatian region; and by the Holy Spirit being forbidden to speak the Word in Asia; (7) having come to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia. But the Spirit did not allow them. (8) Then passing by Mysia, they came down into Troas. (9) And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A certain man of Macedonia stood, begging him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us! (10) And after he saw the vision, we immediately tried to go into Macedonia, gathering that the Lord had called us in order to preach the gospel to them.

The Holy Spirit stopped them ministering in Asia at that point (they would do so later on) and blocked entry in Bithynia, until at Troas Paul got the night vision about the Macedonian Call. This is an initiative of Heaven – God has made the ministry plan and He calls Paul and Silas in to join in it.

We see similar examples with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), Ananias being sent to heal the blind Saul / Paul (Acts 9), Peter going to Cornelius' house (Acts 10), Agabus' warning about the famine and the church response (Acts 11:28ff), and Peter escaping from prison (Acts 12) and so on. In fact the ministries of the apostles and disciples seem to be entirely Spirit-led. They let God do the planning according to His wisdom and then they simply joined in with what God was doing.

They developed their ministry gifts and learned the Scriptures and even has special callings given by God (such as Paul's 'to preach the gospel to the Gentiles'). But they did not snatch up the reins and try to steer their ministries. They became co-participants with God in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). Even the most gifted individual should seek the Spirit's direction as to the specifics of implementing God's calling, such as where to preach and when to travel and even what to say to certain individuals.

The initiatives of Heaven may be things that we would never have thought of, and even may be things quite outside our comfort zone such as Jonah being sent to Nineveh or Ananias being sent to pray for Saul. But whatever God's plan is – it is good!

Now the trouble is that we tend to doubt God at the critical moment. When we feel that nudge in our spirit to say something to an important person we are overcome with shyness, or when we feel led to go to a certain city for ministry we think of the cost.

There is a certain boldness that is required if we are to fully cooperate with God. Satan operates via fear so to overcome these spiritual attacks we must be bold. Satan also operates on us through doubt, skepticism, fear of social disapproval, and poor teaching on the nature of Christian ministry. We must not give in to such things!

Thus following the initiatives of Heaven requires prayerfulness, boldness, zeal and ethical integrity as we minister in the Name of Jesus Christ. We are to be constantly listening to God for the 'next step' and fine-tuning our plans in accordance with His prompting.

Small acts of obedience can have big consequences. Once when I was getting ready for a Christian camp the Holy Spirit said 'pack that black jumper' (a jumper in Australia = a sweater in USA), it was thin, old and ragged and was one I generally only used for fishing. But I put it in my duffel bag and went to camp.

I wore it on the first evening of camp as it was a bit chilly and I found out that black as “in” that year. I was soon adopted as leader by a group of five highly extroverted teenage girls who were not yet believers. They spiked my hair in gel, hung out with me, and got gloriously saved. They all went to Bray Park High so we started a Scripture Union bible club at that school that eventually had 40 members in it.

God's very simple leading led to a whole chain of positive events that resulted in glory being given to God.

Some people deny that such prompting has any place in the Christian life of modern believers. A leading proponent of this is Gary Friesen whose book “Decision-Making In The Will of God” has been a best-seller for many years. Dr. Friesen's book is a reaction against legalism, against the 'dot' theory where people could 'miss God's will for their life' by messing up a small decision. However he has gone overboard and thrown out all spiritual impressions whatsoever and all Holy Spirit guidance along the way. He has 'thrown the baby out with the bathwater'. God does communicate His will to us, personally, and that is a big part of the joy of the Christian life.

However, this does raise a question – what do we do when there is no specific guidance?

There is a place for common sense in routine matters. A friend of mine waited four months to get her car fixed because she was praying for a 'sign' as to which mechanic to use. The car was totally wrecked by the time the four months was up.

You don't need Holy Spirit guidance on which shoe to put on first or on whether you should pay the electricity bill. These things are the simple routines of life that God expects us to take care of. God will speak when He wishes to speak about something special.

So we should not deny the value of the leading of the Holy Spirit and retreat to our own wisdom and intelligence, nor should we become passive and dependent and expect Holy Spirit guidance for every tiny detail of our lives.

One way to think of this is to see yourself as a soldier under orders. God is the General, the Master Planner. He decides who goes where and what the overall strategy will be. Sometimes you will get special orders and you should obey them. Other times you will just be at your guard-post doing routine duties faithfully and that is fine as well. If there is action you will respond according to your training first and listen carefully for any special directions on the radio. When orders come we are to be bold and courageous to promptly carry out the will of the Commander.

Now spiritual ministry is a quite different matter from having your car fixed or packing for camp. Spiritual ministry is initiated by God, empowered by God and directed by God. You really CANNOT do effective spiritual ministry unless you are totally surrendered to His guidance. Let's see what Jesus said about His own spiritual ministry:

John 5:19-20 MKJV Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise. (20) For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all the things that He Himself does. ….

John 5:30 MKJV I can do nothing of My own self. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me.

When it came to ministry Jesus did nothing out his own initiative, nothing out of His self, nothing from His own judgment and nothing from His own will. Now Jesus had a perfect judgment and will and His thoughts were pure. If anyone could have done His own ministry planning it should have been the Lord! However Jesus sought the will of the Father. He wanted His ministry direction to come from Heaven above.

If Jesus sought out the initiatives of heaven – how much more should you and I!

God creates opportunities for us to minister and then expects us to seize them. On the other hand God also expects us to be systematic – such as when Jesus asked his disciples to go two by two throughout the villages of Israel, or when Paul returned to the new churches to see how they were going and to strengthen them.

Yet as we go about our systematic daily ministry we should also be prepared for God's surprises, God's divine appointments.

There is this dynamic balance between spontaneity and order. For instance in 1 Corinthians 14 there is much teaching on prophecy and tongues and worship but also the admonition that God is a God of order and of peace, and not of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Let’s take this down to the level of preparing a weekly sermon. I always advocate having a 12 month preaching plan (or even longer) so that both the pastor and the church and the worship team all have a good idea of what to expect. For instance you might pray over what to teach for that year and decide to preach on the gospel of John chapters 1-11 for 22 weeks (half a chapter per week) and then add in Mother's Day, Father's Day and a few other occasions, some missions sermons, some devotional material from the Old Testament (say 6 Psalms) and twelve weeks the book of Ephesians (again half a chapter per week).

Now is this excluding God? Not at all – as long as you remain sensitive to His prompting. Preaching God's word faithfully and systematically blesses His people and honors His name. Another thing I recommend is that pastors write out their sermons word for word. This assists with having a well-structured sermon and tends to prevents waffling, repetition and poor logic. After it has been written out then put the main points into PowerPoint and preach from that as the Spirit leads (don't just read the sermon). The fully written out sermon can then be posted to the church website for the whole world to read and to be blessed by, even many years later.

Now the Holy Spirit can create many ministry opportunities out of this systematic presentation and work. The Holy Spirit may use that well-prepared sermon to convict people, or to lead someone to Christ, or to create a counseling opportunity later that week, or an Internet ministry opportunity via email. Thus there is no inherent conflict between 'flowing in the Spirit' and being systematic, orderly and properly prepared in ministry.

There is a dynamic balance between the initiatives of Heaven and your responsibility to be a faithful steward of the grace of God, who accurately divides the Word of God. God may suddenly send you to Nigeria, but when you arrive, you must preach the truth!

On the other hand, order without inspiration can become suffocating. If we are not receptive to the initiatives of Heaven we can miss major ministry opportunities and fail to reap in the more fruitful fields of Harvest. God always wants to send us into areas of maximum effectiveness. He does not want anyone sitting around, going nowhere with a stale, unproductive ministry:

Matthew 10:11-15 ISV "Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you leave. (12) As you enter the house, greet it. (13) If the house is receptive, let your blessing of peace come on it. But if it isn't

receptive, let your blessing of peace return to you. (14) If no one welcomes you or listens to your words, as you leave that house or town, shake its dust off your feet. (15) Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!"

Since the Harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37), it makes sense that God would want His laborers where they can do the most good! It is also very evident that many of God's servants are NOT where they should be at all.

Huge harvest fields have hardly anyone ministering in them! And some areas are so over-populated with workers that Christians complain that there are simply no opportunities for ministry!

It seems to me that the Church is listening to its own voice instead of God's voice and to its own organizational priorities rather than God's Harvest priorities! We need to unplug ourselves from our agendas and start listening to God's Agenda! When God's people catch the initiatives of Heaven a far greater percentage of Christians will be in the right place, with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time, and getting the right results.

We just don't see the world the way God does. We cannot see into human hearts and know which ones are ripe and ready for salvation. And we do not know what is about to happen with nations and how a door for the gospel that is now open, may soon be closed, unless we act very quickly. Our judgment is so far from optimal that we simply should not be running the show. Even if we had perfect missions statistics and cultural analysis we would be far short of the mark. Ministry MUST be God-directed. Without the leading of the Holy Spirit we will simply be fruitless and hopeless ministers of the gospel seeing few saved and even less transformed and matured in Christ.

So the question then becomes: “How do we end up in the right place, with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time, and getting the right results?”

Step One is to give up your own initiative, will and judgment just as Jesus gave up His own initiative, will and judgment in deference to the Father (John 5:30, 8:38, 12:49,50)

Step Two is to actively watch and listen to the Father using your spiritual senses such as your spiritual eyes and ears (above verses plus Hebrews 5:14) which are part of your conscience. Check what you receive against Scripture and general wisdom.

Step Three is, as soon as you are sure it's the Lord, then act on the leading.

Let's see how this applied to the case of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:

Acts 8:26-29 MKJV And the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south, on the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is a deserted place. (27) And he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure and had come to Jerusalem to worship, (28) was returning. And sitting in his chariot he read Isaiah the prophet. (29) Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go near and join yourself to this chariot.

A great revival in Samaria had just concluded with many saved, delivered, baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostles were heading back to Jerusalem when an angel taps Philip on the shoulder and tells him to go to a deserted area. In 'the natural' this was a rather bizarre command, but Philip gave up his own will, judgment and initiative and obeyed the angel.

Philip arrives to find a chariot of an important Ethiopian official and the Holy Spirit then prompts Philip to join the chariot. Now given that this important financial official probably had numerous bodyguards there may have been some risk in this! But Philip overcame any shyness and trepidation and obeyed the Spirit. At this point the Ethiopian eunuch asks a question about Isaiah 53 and Philip's well prepared ministry skills take over and he leads the eunuch to Christ, eventually baptizing him in water. The ministry in the deserted place being completed the Spirit moves Philip to more fruitful areas:

Acts 8:39-40 MKJV And when they had come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing. (40) But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached the gospel in all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

This simple witness to a single individual eventually led to the founding of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church! Spirit-led obedience is like the loaves and the fishes – it seems to have blessing, multiplication and power built right into it.

Philip: a) Gave up his own will and understanding of the situation b) Followed clear leadings from God without hesitation c) Ministered faithfully and biblically and d) Ended up being in the right place, with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time, and getting the right results.

We saw that the initiatives of Heaven are the way that God guides us so that we end up being in the right place, with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time, and getting the right results.

By being sensitive to God's guidance through our conscience and our spiritual senses we become attuned to God's immediate agenda in that present moment. This helps us to know what to do and how to do it.

Just to clarify, there are three types of guidance that I see in Scripture and they all work together for the glory of God:

a) Knowledge of the Scriptures is God's macro-guidance and gives us wisdom that we can apply in many different situations. It is Scripture that equips the man of God to minister effectively (2 Timothy 3:16,17). Scripture is primary and authoritative. b) A sense of gifting and calling such as “I am called to be an apostle to the Gentiles” is God's medium range guidance. This kind of guidance forms our identity, training, skill sets and outlook. It tells us who we are, and what we can do in the body of Christ and gives us our sense of “role”.

c) The initiatives of Heaven are God's 'micro-guidance' and position us correctly within our role and circumstances so that we end up being in the right place, with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time, and getting the right results

Let’s apply this to the case we saw yesterday of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.

1. Philip had a calling as an evangelist that he was fulfilling in Samaria.

2. The initiatives of Heaven repositioned Philip so that he was taken out of Samaria and sent to Gaza – this was accomplished via an angel telling him to go to Gaza and the Holy Spirit telling him to join the chariot. This resulted in Philip being in the right place, with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time.

3. The eunuch was reading Isaiah 53 so Philip used his equipping and knowledge of the Scriptures to be an effective minister of grace who rightly divided the Word of God – and thus led the eunuch to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

So Philip had to be a) moving in his calling and b) equipped with the Scriptures so that he could be c) repositioned by God's micro-guidance into a highly strategic and effective situation. There are many faithful men and women of God who are well-equipped with Bible training and who are definitely called and moving in their calling but who are seeing very little fruit in their ministry. They need God's micro-guidance!

God's micro-guidance, which we are calling the initiatives of Heaven, are daily downloads of God's priorities for action. They are short-term and immediate and the apostles acted on them pretty much straight away (except for Peter who let the men from Cornelius stay overnight before heading out with them possibly because they needed the rest – Acts 10:23).

Again let’s look at some incidents in Acts chapter 5:

Acts 5:15-21 MKJV So as to carry out the sick into the streets and place them on cots and mattresses, so that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might

overshadow some of them. (16) And also a multitude came from the cities around Jerusalem, bringing sick ones, and those being tormented by unclean spirits, who were all healed. (17) And rising up, the high priest, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees) were filled with anger, (18) And laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the public custody. (19) But the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night and brought them out, and said, (20) Go! Stand and speak all the words of this Life to the people in the temple. (21) And hearing, they went into the temple about dawn, and taught.....

Peter and the apostles are having a mighty healing ministry and this enrages the envious High Priest who then throws the apostles in prison. An angel brings them out by night and says to them: Go! Stand and speak all the words of this Life to the people in the temple. They obeyed the angel's instructions immediately. And so at dawn they went right back into the territory of the High Priest (the Temple) and preached and taught the gospel.

This instruction was for all the apostles, on that day, in order for them to bear witness to Christ. Later they would travel all over the Roman Empire, but on this day they were to be in the Temple teaching. This was the right place at the right time for the purposes of the Kingdom of God. However this 'Temple preaching' was not to be the pattern for all time. It was an immediate instruction for 'that hour' and was understood as such. Later they would preach in synagogues and marketplaces and houses and on desert roads.

The initiatives of Heaven are God's daily guidance, His tactical operations to defeat the enemy of our souls. God might wake you up in the middle of the night to pray for someone – don't go back to sleep! Obey the prompting and pray through to victory! God might prompt you to warn a co-worker about an inappropriate relationship that could wreck her marriage – speak up before it is too late!

The initiatives of Heaven are not complex. They are generally just a few words, a sentence or a short paragraph at most such as: “Join the Chariot” “Go, stand and speak ...” etc. They are God's quick touch on our life telling us to do (or in some cases not to do) a certain thing.

Not obeying a prompting can be costly. Rick Renner tells the story of his time in Moscow when he was supposed to attend a farewell function but felt very strongly that the Spirit was telling him to stay in his hotel room. He went to the function but returned after a while due to the urgency of the feeling, only to find the room trashed and burgled at a large loss to themselves and the ministry. He wrote saying that if he has obeyed the nudge from God then this would not have occurred.

I have had experiences where not listening to a prompting about consuming certain food has made me ill, and even one where I was burgled under very similar circumstances!

If we want to be a blessing to others, avoid danger and have optimal effectiveness in ministry we need to be incredibly sensitive and obedient to these leadings of the Holy Spirit.

Now this leads to the question: What about those goofy people who claim to be led by the Spirit but just seem to be rather irresponsible and self-centered individuals? Are you asking us to be like them?

No, of course not. People take advantage of every teaching of Scripture and some claim a new leading from God every time life gets difficult. Just because a few people abuse this doctrine or make it very legalistic, it does not mean that we should throw it out altogether!

God leads! God guides! And God speaks to his children about many aspects of their lives! In the next study we will look at how to hear the initiatives of Heaven for our own life and ministry.

Spiritual Ministry

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL MINISTRY? Spiritual ministry is ministry with spiritual goals which is done under the power, inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit. It is ministry that simply cannot happen unless God shows up. Its basis and its main priority is the Word of God and prayer:

Acts 6:2-4 EMTV Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not pleasing to us that we should forsake the word of God to serve tables. (3) Therefore, brothers, select seven men from among you, of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint for this need. (4) But we will faithfully engage in prayer and in the ministry of the word."

The following verses indicate some areas of spiritual ministry that Jesus expected His disciples to be involved in:

Matthew 10:7-8 MKJV And as you go, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (8) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. You have received freely, freely give.

This is 'scary ministry' because you are totally reliant on God showing you what to do and how to do it and for Him to provide 100% of the results.

Areas of spiritual ministry may include:

1. Proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 10:8, Luke 10:9)

2. Casting out demons (Matthew 10:8, Acts 8:5-8)

3. Healing the sick (Luke 10:9, Matthew 10:8, 1 Corinthians 12:9, James 5:15)

4. Cleansing lepers (Matthew 10:8) & raising the dead (Acts 9:36-42, 20:7-10)

5. The gift of special visionary faith (1 Corinthians 12:9)

6. The working of mighty miracles (1 Corinthians 12:10)

7. The discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10)

8. Tongues & the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10)

9. Prophecy (Acts 2:17,18, 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 14:1-40)

10. Words of wisdom and knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8)

11. The ministry of the Word – anointed teaching (Acts 6:2-4, Romans 12:7)

12. The ministry of prayer and intercession (Acts 6:2-4, Colossians 4:12)

13. Shepherding the flock as ones appointed by the Spirit (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-4)

14. Providing Scriptural counsel and encouragement (2 Timothy 3:16,17, Rom 12:8)

15. Anointed helping of others in constructive ways (1 Corinthians 12:28)

16. Godly wise leadership administration (Romans 12:8, 1 Corinthians 12:28)

17. Sharing (Romans 12:8, 13; 1 Timothy 6;17-19, Hebrews 13:16, 1 John 3:16-28)

18. Mercy (Romans 12:8, James 1:27)

Some of these gifts such as mercy, helps, sharing, leadership and administration may not seem to be 'very spiritual' yet they are among the leading causes of burn-out, rage, and compassion fatigue in ministry when they are attempted without the proper calling and anointing. And spiritual leadership and administration are vastly different from that in the business world (just ask any businessman who has tried to transition over to a missions organization or church).

All of these eighteen powerful gift areas require sustained immersion in the Word of God and prayer if they are a) to work at all and b) if they are not become destructive of either the hearers or the practitioners.

During the next few weeks we are going to have a deep look at spiritual ministry and how it differs from ministry done the world's way, with the world's attitudes and means just as if the church or missions agency was a small, medium or large sized business or bureaucracy and without much real dependence on God the Holy Spirit.

For instance there is a mile of difference between preaching that has anointing and comes from deep bible study, prayer and dependence on God and preaching that is just theology on display, or preaching that is all theatrics and showmanship. Real spiritual ministry comes from Christ Himself working through that person via the gifts and calling that He has imparted to them.

Spiritual ministry is not automatic and needs to be fanned into flame:

2 Timothy 1:6 MKJV Therefore I remind you to inflame anew the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands.

When the flame goes out a real ministry crisis can result. This is why we need to deeply study the ministry gifts and how they operate and how we can develop them and sustain them so that the body of Christ is fully edified.

I am not meaning to imply that normal day-to-day operational areas such as 'waiting on tables' (Acts 6) or being a parking lot attendant are un-spiritual. They are still very much needed. But they support the work of the spiritual ministries. If no one is getting healed, saved, delivered or instructed in the Truth inside the building then there is not much use parking the cars outside the building!

Jesus was 100% focused on spiritual ministry. He never built a building or set up a publishing house. Even when he fed the five thousand it was with spiritual teaching purposes and faith-building in mind. And this miracle caused Jesus much trouble when the multitudes then wanted Him to become King, and when Jesus refused they deserted Him in droves so only the twelve were left (John 6).

Spiritual ministry was the focus of Jesus and the apostles and so it should also be the focus of the Church today. But our program mentality will have to move out of the way in the process!

SPIRITUAL MINISTRY: GREATER WORKS

Physical ministry is limited by money, labor supply, building size and so on. However spiritual ministry is only limited by the supply of the Holy Spirit, who is given abundantly to those who believe. Jesus told His apostles they would do 'greater works' because of the spiritual supply that He was going to provide to them after His ascension:

John 14:12-17 MKJV Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me, the works that I do he shall do also, and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father. (13) And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (14) If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (15) If you love Me, keep My commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever, (17) the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you.

The 'greater works' are done 'because I go to the Father” - that is because Jesus would ascend into the Heavens, take captivity captive and pour out the Holy Spirit and various ministry gifts upon those who believed (Acts 2, Ephesians 4 plus John 14:16,17 above).

At this point after the ascension, Jesus is enthroned in Heaven at the right hand of the majesty on high (Psalm 110, Hebrews 1:1-3) and we can pray to Him as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:12-16) so that if we ask anything in His Name He will do it ((John 14:13,14).

Thus the ascension of Jesus Christ has HUGE implications for spiritual ministry: 1. We have God answering our prayers and requests and moving on our behalf

2. We have immense amounts of spiritual power made available through the Holy Spirit who gives spiritual gifts to men and who will enable us to do 'greater works'.

The only resource that is absolutely essential for effective spiritual ministry is God the Holy Spirit. Only God can cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead,

convert sinners, work mighty miracles and so on. Without God none of these things happen.

The fact that our ministry is limited by our financial budget is a terrible lie. Some ministries believe they can 'do nothing' without funding. That is simply not true. None of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 accomplished their ministry goals through a stewardship program or ministry development fund. Moses did not need to raise a million dollars before going to see Pharaoh and Elijah did not have wealth when he stood and confronted the prophets of Baal. Gideon did not have an office and the three young Jews in the fiery furnace did not have an insurance policy. But they all had faith and they all had God on their side.

No amount of gold or silver could have made the lame man at the Gate Beautiful walk again - but God could, and God did.

You can have the biggest buildings and best programs on the planet and it can all be empty human activity. Or you can be like Peter and John and 'have none' and be able to heal the sick and convert 3000 people on one day. The critical element in ministry is not funding, it is the supply of the Holy Spirit! (Now if God has given you abundant funds and a big building, that is great, but do not rely on that rather rely on God!)

The glory gets into our soul through prayer, faith and believing the word of God. We need more anointing, more faith, and more reliance on God. When we have faith then God turns up and we see miracles and conversions. Without faith all we have left is ecclesiastical machinery.

Galatians 3:1-5 MKJV O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you not to obey the truth, to whom before your eyes Jesus Christ was written among you crucified? (2) This only I would learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing of faith? (3) Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, do you now perfect yourself in the flesh? (4) Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it is even in vain? (5) Then He supplying the Spirit to you and working powerful works in you, is it by works of the law, or by hearing of faith?

We are very easily persuaded that this is not so. Strong personalities tell us that we can begin in the Spirit – but that is only a beginning, even a fine beginning, but after that we will require programs, buildings and a bureaucracy if our ministry is to 'be credible, have status, line up with the latest business practices' and so on. And of course 'to be effective' we will need the latest church consultants, expensive development programs, websites and a big billboard down on Main Street.

Jesus, the apostles and the heroes of faith were very effective and they had few if any of those things. Building are incidentals, not essentials. You can be effective preaching in the fields to coal-miners (John Wesley was). And Martin Luther began the Reformation as a humble monk with few possessions of his own. Anointing with the Holy Spirit is the key ingredient for ministry effectiveness. All the other things are mere props and tools to be used along the way.

The supply of the Holy Spirit is so vast and so complete that we are only perhaps glimpsing the very fringes of it. The Holy Spirit can create a mighty apostolic ministry out of the most poverty-stricken circumstances. We see people in India and China doing great works for God on $150 a month, riding bicycles, walking barefoot, living simply. And the ministry of the apostle Paul was not limited when he was destitute:

1 Corinthians 4:9-13 MKJV (9) For I think that God has set forth us last, the apostles, as it were appointed to death; for we have become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. (10) We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honorable, but we are despised. (11) Even until this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place. (12) And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; (13) being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

Now the point of all this is not to shame or to accuse anyone but rather to point out where the true source of our power lies and where our confidence and our hope should be. We can do greater works, and we can do them no matter what our financial circumstances are – because of what Christ has done for us through His death, His resurrection and His ascension into Heaven to reign at the right hand of God on High.

There are no fixed limits to your ministry. Money cannot limit your ministry. Being in prison cannot limit your ministry (e.g. Paul's epistles). And being thrown into a fiery furnace or being nailed to a Cross cannot limit your ministry. And geography cannot limit it - John the Baptist preached in the remote Judean wilderness yet he was heard. If God is with you no man or circumstance or demon can be against you!

Romans 8:31-39 MKJV What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ... (35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written, "For Your sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep of slaughter." (37) But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us. (38) For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God wants to do 'greater works' through you as you believe in Him. God wants to increase His glory though you. God wants to touch the hearts of men and women through you. But you must believe. You must call on God for the anointing. You must know for absolutely certain that without Jesus 'you can do nothing' (John 15:5) but in Him, and with the anointing, you can 'bear much fruit' (John 15:1-8).

Do not think, even for a single second, that you can accomplish any spiritual ministry of any sort by your own power and piety – you simply cannot (Acts 3:12). As you become utterly dependent on God, as you abide in the vine, as you exercise faith, as you believe, then the Holy Spirit will abundantly come upon you and move in you and move through you to the nations.

SPIRITUAL MINISTRY: FEAR AND FAITH

John 14:12-13 MKJV Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me, the works that I do he shall do also, and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father. (13) And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

We have seen that spiritual ministry requires God the Holy Spirit to show up. For many people that is rather frightening. What if God does not show up? What if people are not healed? What if the demon is not cast out and what if the Spirit-led worship is a disaster? There is a fear of appearing foolish. Even a fear of diminishing “God's glory” through such public forms of “failure”. We think: “O my goodness what will we do if God does not show up on Sunday?”

So from this small unbelieving question, from this lack of faith we start substituting for the Holy Spirit. Instead of proclaiming the Kingdom we proclaim the church or the denomination, instead of preaching the Word we preach human reason, instead of Spirit-led worship we have professional orchestrated worship programs. Gradually every function of the Holy Spirit is replaced with a “program” until even sanctification is a “counseling program”. (Now outside the Church, there is nothing wrong with counseling, but when it is viewed almost as a substitute for actual grace, then it becomes wrong). Now in order to do all this frantic substitute activity that 'keeps face', that shows that God is real - even though we secretly believe he would never show up on Sunday; we need facilities, committees, websites, development programs etc. Over time this results in an empty organization, an institution, that tries to 'protect God'. It's hollow. It is full of secret unbelief. And it's scared half to death of ever really being asked to deal with the awesome and the Holy. James deals with this kind of doubt in his epistle:

James 1:6-7 MKJV But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. (7) For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord;

Our doubt about God turning up becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because the person who doubts 'receives nothing from the Lord'. So we see that this series of 'little fears' eventually has catastrophic consequences for the spiritual life and for the proclamation of the gospel. So what can we do about it? How can we move from fear to faith?

Let’s go back to John 14:12 above. This verse is a promise, straight from the mouth of Jesus, that God will turn up in amazing ways if we just truly believe on Him. Indeed we will see the incredible miracles of Jesus, plus even greater works (which are left undefined).

Whatever else it means, it means that the really big stuff was not going to end with Jesus, or even with the apostles, but would flow from: he who believes on Me – which is from anyone who has faith. Let’s look a bit more at the phrase “he who believes on Me”:

So we see that faith unlocks the 'rivers of living water' – torrents of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit flowing from our innermost being is the power behind all true spiritual ministry. This again is a promise from the lips of Jesus.

We also find that 'he who believes': is saved (Mark 16:16), does not come into condemnation (John 3:18,5:24), has everlasting life (John 3:36,5;24,6:47), has passed from death to life (John 5:24), shall never hunger or thirst (John 6:35), will be resurrected (John 11:25,26), believes in Him who sent Jesus (John 12:44), will not be ashamed (1 Peter 2:6), has overcome the world (1 John 5:5) and has the witness in himself (1 John 5:10). Believing drives the entire spiritual life from start to finish!

God wants us to move beyond spiritual timidity to have power, love and a sound mind:

2 Timothy 1:6-7 MKJV Therefore I remind you to inflame anew the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands. (7) For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Timothy had let his fears get in the way of his faith and his gifting. Paul was urging him to go on, to believe, to be a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Fear sometimes masquerades as common sense, respectability and many other things. Following the Holy Spirit seems risky and even foolhardy (which may be the reason Paul called himself a 'fool for Christ's sake'). Yet it is those who are led by the Spirit who are the sons of God (Romans 8:14).

Elijah is a good example of bold spiritual ministry:

James 5:16-18 MKJV ... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much. (17) Elijah was a man of like passion as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for the time of three years and six months. (18) And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to sprout.

Elijah fully expected God to answer his prayers because he was being led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not lead you to pray for things that God does not want to do!

Bold spiritual ministry comes about once we realize that the Holy Spirit is leading us and that God is with us in that endeavor (which is why the first 50 studies were about being led by the Spirit and communicating with God). Once we understand the 'initiatives of heaven' we can step out and be bold and know, for sure, that God is going to be there because it was His idea in the very first place!

Jesus gives us some tantalizingly brief glimpses into this process in His life and ministry:

John 5:30 MKJV I can do nothing of My own self. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me.

John 8:38 MKJV I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you, then, do what you have seen with your father (the Devil).

John 12:49-50 MKJV For I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say, and what I should speak. (50) And I know that His command is life everlasting. Therefore whatever I speak, even as the Father said to Me, so I speak.

John 13:3-4 MKJV Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and went to God, (4) He rose up from supper and laid aside His garments. And He took a towel and girded Himself.

John 14:31 MKJV But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has given Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go away from here.

So we see that Jesus saw what the Father was doing and did likewise (John 5:19), sought only the Father's will not His own will (John 5:30), spoke what He saw with the Father, indeed God commanded Jesus as to what to say and what to speak (John 8:38, 12:49,50) , had God communicate to Him his identity and His destiny yet was humble about it (John 13:3,4) and fully followed the commandments that He received from the Father, even going to the Cross (John 14:31).

Now of course we are not Jesus Christ, but we are called to be in His image and to do His works, and we are to be led by the Spirit and to follow God's will and God's commandments in all things. In Acts we see that the apostles took this leading of the Holy Spirit very seriously and that it was part of the dynamic life of the early Christian Church.

So how do we go from fear to faith? First we must put aside our doubts, pray to God, listen to God and then act on what we hear. We must believe that God is honorable and will back up His words and His commandments with His power.

Yes this is risky and yes it may take some practice, but is far better than receiving nothing from the Lord. God WILL turn up. He promises to turn up and there are thousands of testimonies about Him turning up for those who believe.

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