MINISTRY GIFTS 101

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There is some serious lack of understanding when it comes to Ministry Gifts in some parts of the body of Christ today, and this has led to abuse and misuse of these gifts. It’s saddening to see how far we’ve drifted away from the pattern set by the Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ himself.  When Jesus ascended up into Heaven after His resurrection, the Word of God says, He gave gifts to men for the equipping of the saints. These gifts were to work together towards the common goal of equipping the saints for ministry, each gift fulfilling a specific function.

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers – Ephesians 4:11 NKJV   

What the purpose and function of these Ministry Gifts?

 ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, - Ephesians 4:12 NKJV

So instead of wondering why the work of the ministry, ie. Making disciples of all nations is at a sluggish pace let’s pay close attention how we are being equipped, that is if we are being equipped at all. The thing is, we cannot substitute the Master’s pattern and strategy for the work of the ministry or for the perfection of the saints with our man-made alternatives and expect to accomplish much.

Why does the body of Christ need this equipping and what will it accomplish?

¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ – Ephesians 4:13-15 NKJV

This passage in Ephesians clearly states that it is Christ, the Head of the Church who gave these five Ministry Gifts of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher to the church and hasn’t stopped giving these gifts to the church today, remember He said “…I will build my church…” I submit to you that He is still building His church today, so all the Ministry Gifts are very much operating in the church today whether we recognize and accept them or not.

These Ministry Gifts are not given by man as he wills. Just because someone went to Bible school (and going to a good Bible School is a commendable thing, don’t get me wrong) it doesn’t mean they are called to be a Pastor or a Prophet or a Teacher or an Apostle or an Evangelist. If the Lord has called you out as a Ministry Gift, then by all means don’t shrink back, wait on Him, be faithful where you are and let Him place you where He desires. It is Christ who calls, appoints, anoints and sends Ministry Gifts to His Church.  

It is sad to see some segments of the body of Christ shun and reject some of these Ministry Gifts that the Lord has lovingly given them for their equipping; it is even sadder to see impostors flaunting Ministry Gift titles, claiming to be what they are not, lording it over precious redeemed souls of unsuspecting believers, ravenously devouring the flock… Yep these identity thieves and scammers seem to be everywhere.

Whenever someone insists on being addressed by what they claim to be “their proper title”, alarm bells should be going off in your spirit; more often than not they are impostors, very seldom will they be an authentic Ministry Gift and if they are then they would be quite immature and/or just walking in the flesh. True mature Spirit led Ministry Gifts will not be fixated on announcing themselves with titles, they’ll just be who they are and the gift that is within them will make room for them. “You shall know them by their fruits” is very applicable here.   

Some in the body of Christ today use Ministry Gift titles like well deserved promotions almost like the way the secular world system uses titles such as CEO, VP and the like. The thing is, those secular titles are promotions that are usually a result of an individual’s efforts while Ministry Gifts are not a promotion, they are gifts given by Christ to His church, they are to serve the body, not to boss it around. Ministry Gifts are not given to the body to be served but to serve… no ifs, ands or buts. Nowhere in the New Testament will you find any authentic Ministry Gift lording it over believers, it was always the impostors who did that, like the false apostles who Paul had a few choice words for:

¹³ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. – 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 NKJV   

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One cannot aspire to be a particular Ministry Gift and then work their way up through the ranks, as it were, to it. It is Christ who sets them apart and gives them to His body, His Church. Ministry Gifts are not a reward for one’s obedience to God or anything like that, no, otherwise they would be earned and therefore cease to be gifts. They are by His grace and His grace alone. Paul knew this and that’s why He said he was an apostle by the grace of God and that God had separated him to be an apostle from his mother’s womb.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 NKJV

¹⁵ But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace – Galatians 1:15 NKJV

When it comes to Ministry Gifts, may the Holy Spirit enable us to swiflty and accurately distinguish between the true and the false. May He also grace us with the boldness and courage to take the appropriate action.      

             

A PURE HEART By Daniel J. Musokwa

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A pure heart, what is it really? The English word pure means ‘free of foreign elements, adulterants, defilement, sin, dirt etc’.  A pure heart, therefore, is a heart that is free of foreign elements, adulterants, defilement, sin and dirt. But for there to ever be reference to a pure heart it must be possible for one to exist and be maintained in this sinful world.

Due to the fallen state of man, one cannot create a clean heart for himself, but only God can create in us a clean heart(Psalm 51:10 - NIV). All we can do is keep that heart pure by developing in the knowledge of God so we can hear and understand His voice. With the help of the Holy Spirit one can steer clear of evil and be navigated into pure living through the raging seas of sin and fallenness.

Being saved alone does not guarantee us a clean heart, there has to be a longing in each individual to have a heart fully devoted to the Master (Matthew 5:8; Proverbs 22:11; Hebrews 10:22; 1 Timothy 1:5 - NIV). The Lord seeks a heart that is completely after Him and seeking to walk the Kingdom of God right here on Earth! He is after a heart that walks this Earth with the power and reality of another world, a world beyond this one where God Himself dwells(Colossians 2:3; Ephesians 2:6 – NIV).

The spiritual atmosphere of this world is full of pollutants, adulterants and impurities that slowly whittle away at the integrity of any heart that would compromise enough to dare meddle with worldliness. While God’s grace is patient and He sometimes extends it to us even when we knowingly venture into impurity; we should know, however, that by so doing we are limiting our own growth into what the Father intends for us to be and ultimately we are not fulfilling our purpose for being here. Purity compels us to be about our Father’s business.

The writer of Hebrews says “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" - Hebrews 12:14. What a powerful statement. Holiness means to be set apart, consecrated unto the Lord, otherness, and purity. This statement rhymes with what Jesus said in Matthew 5:8; “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” It clearly seems to me that it is in one’s best interest to maintain a clean heart because without it NO ONE will ever see God! It is that simple.

As Apostle Paul so passionately urges us, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light" - Romans 13:12 NIV. In other words Paul says let us armor ourselves with the knowledge of God. To know God is to know purity and no one who truly knows God seeks after nor wallows in the impurity that this world cheaply offers. Let us strive to live as sojourners in this Earth, simply passing by and not succumbing to the pressure to build our ‘homes’ here and intermingle with the fallen culture of this beggarly world.

Purity should be our one and only obsession. We cannot change the world by compromising but by maintaining our integrity in Christ. Shalom.  

Daniel J. Musokwa,
General Overseer,
New Testament Ministries - TZ,
P.O. Box 2590,
Mbeya,
Tanzania
+255 715 905001 (SMS only)

kainos.diatheke@gmail.com

PROPHECY AND PROPHESYING continued…

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Yesterday, I thought I’d just share something about the gifts of the Spirit with a focus on the gift of Prophecy, but by the time I got to three pages I realized I still had quite a bit to say, so this post would be more or less a sequel to yesterday’s.

A few things to keep in mind when it comes to the gift of prophecy include distinguishing between what it actually is and is not. In the Old Testament God led His people mainly through His prophets who had the Holy Spirit on them. In those days Holy Spirit would only come upon Kings, Priests and Prophets. The the people were told if they wanted all to be well with them they had better believe the prophets as the last part of 2 Chronicles 20:20 so aptly puts it:

“… believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” – 2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV

The only way of judging prophecies during that time was if the opposite of what the prophet said came to pass, and that prophet would face death for speaking presumptuously…serious stuff! (Deuteronomy 18:20-22) And moreover they were told not to fear that prophet, to me such a statement implies that prophets back in the OT were fearsome characters. Some were quite eccentric too…I mean snacking on locusts and wild honey, wearing camel hide suits, chilling in the wilderness, when everyone else is hanging out in town…talk about being weird by society’s standards.

In the New Testament every born again believer has the Holy Spirit in them since it is the Spirit who regenerates our dead spirits and we are joined with Him. This is a separate experience from and a prerequisite for being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Today God leads us by His Spirit within us, we do not go a Prophet (or any ministry gift for that matter) to seek guidance from God. This does not mean that God cannot give you guidance through someone else though, He can but that is the exception, not the rule and when He does it will most likely be for establishment or confirmational purposes as He would have already spoken to you the issue beforehand. Guidance from a prophetic ministry is never solicited, it is God who initiates it. This is more of a function of the prophetic ministry, which again, is not the focus of this article, nevertheless I feel its good to point out this exception.

Another thing, the gift of prophecy is not to be confused with the gift of the Word of Knowledge or the Word of Wisdom or Discerning of Spirits. The Word of Knowledge has to do with divinely receiving knowledge of what has already happened or is currently happening, the Word of Wisdom has to do with the future, the what’s and the how’s, and Discerning of Spirits has to do with being able to distinguish between spirits; whether it’s the Holy Spirit or  human or angelic or demonic spirits. All these gifts may manifest and or  operate with gift of prophecy. In fact one of the common ways the Holy Spirit manifests the gift of prophecy is through the gifts of tongues and interpretation. It is all done as the Spirit wills.   

The Word of God tells us NT believers not to despise prophesying but to judge prophecies, to test all things and to cling to what is good and wholesome.

¹⁹ Quench not the Spirit. ²⁰ Despise not prophesyings. ²¹ Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. – 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 NIV

We all have the Spirit of God in us and can hear His voice, Jesus said “my sheep hear my voice…” (John 10:27), so child of God, you can and have been hearing the Father’s voice all along, that still small voice as well as many other ways He’s been talking to you, perhaps you weren’t aware of it. Get to know your loving Heavenly Father; the best way to know someone is to spend time with them. Hang out with the Father in prayer and in meditating on His Word, you’ll recognize His voice in a heartbeat! And when you hear prophecies, you’ll be able to quickly discern the source and hopefully take the appropriate action.

The true gift of prophecy will not exalt man or anyone’s ego in any way, shape or form, for the Holy Spirit will always seek to exalt and glorify Christ, not man. Jesus said:

¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. – John 16:14 NKJV

So when you hear prophecies that focus heavily on the recepient(s) in a way that isn’t edifying, comforting or exhorting but rather seeking to puff them or their ministry up (and yes there is a world of difference between encouragement and flattery) a red flag should go up in your spirit. So called prophecies that go along the lines of “everyone will come and bow at your feet, you shall be the greatest of them all, blah blah blah…”  Know for a fact that these kinds of prophecies are at best soulish and at worst devilish, but are certainly not from the Spirit, regardless of how highly the vessel through which they come is esteemed. Let’s not forget we are not to give the devil a foothold and we are not ignorant of his devices, so if we choose to let him in, he will take advantage of the opportunity.

Just because some have selfishly abused this gift is no excuse for us to shun it today. Remember we are not to despise prophesying and rest assured, your Father is well able to protect you from being deceived so relax and enjoy Him and by faith go boldly after what He has made available for you.  

True prophecy will point people to Jesus, not to the one prophesying. What does the Word say?

¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” – Revelation 19:10 NKJV  

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So there, prophecy testifies of Jesus, His testimony is to be front and center and rightfully so. What is the testimony of Jesus? I’m glad you asked…here it is:

¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. – 1John 5:11 NKJV  

Prophecy is to reveal the heart of God for His people, prophecy is to draw people into a deeper walk with the Father, to get to know Him on a deeper level, for eternal life is knowing God and knowing Christ.

Prophecy is an expression of the Father’s perfect love to us. God desires to use every believer in this gift to edify, exhort and comfort His people. Make yourself available, of all the gifts of the Spirit, He is calling you to desire the gift of prophecy, so ask Him to use you in prophecy for His glory. Blessings!   

EARNESTLY DESIRE TO PROPHESY!

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There are nine gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in the Word of God (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) and Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church doesn’t want us – His Body, the Church – to be ignorant of these gifts. He has made them available to all believers and that’s why the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to expound on them. The Word of God says:

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. – 1 Corinthians 12:1 NIV

Notice, they are called the gifts OF the Spirit, they belong to the Spirit, not to individuals and it is the Spirit who uses anyone He desires in any of these gifts. Now let me hasten to add that, the Holy Spirit is not a bully, so He won’t force anyone into doing anything, He will gently let you know of His desire to use you in a particular gift. It could be by way of a spontaneous thought that alights on your mind or by an impression, by a vision, a tugging at your heart or through His still small voice in your spirit…the point is He knows how to get your attention and how to communicate with you, there is no formula, it’s a relational thing…another good reason why you should make communicating with the Lord who is always present with you round the clock, a habit. The importance of spending time in the Word cannot be overemphasized  That’s one sure way of getting to know His voice intimately and prophecy will always be in line with the Word of God, never in contradiction to it.

Our walk with the Lord is one of faith, once we hear His voice, let us be bold enough to step out in faith and do what He tells us to do. Should we draw back out of fear, we might not only deny others of what God has for them, but we also won’t experience the joy of being a vessel that the Lord uses to touch and bless others in the body of Christ. Let us be reminded of this one thing, it is never about us, it is always about Him. His gifts are for building up His people not our egos, so there…the flesh has no place…  

Today, I’d like to zero in on the gift of prophecy, for the Word tells us to  ESPECIALLY DESIRE this gift.

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy - 1 Corinthians 14: 1 NIV

Here we see the fruit of the Spirit (which is encapsulated by the phrase “the way of love”) and the gifts of the Spirit with emphasis on prophecy going together, hand in hand as it were. The simple reason for this is the truth that everything in the Kingdom operates by love. Whatever we do should be out of God’s love that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). His love should be the motivating factor behind our desires for His gifts to operate in and through us. Let us not forget that God is Love. His very essence is Love. Anything done without love doesn’t amount to much, 1 Corinthians 13, the popular love chapter in the Bible, makes that abundantly clear.

As we yield to the love of God that’s poured out in our hearts, we won’t have any other agenda, our desire will be to see others saved, healed, delivered, blessed, lifted up, restored and fulfilling their God ordained destinies. The gift of prophesy that flows out of love is never condemning, neither does it seek to bring fear, control or manipulation; the gift of prophecy will always edify, exhort and comfort others. 

The gift of prophesy is for building people up, for comforting them and for encouraging or exhorting them. It is never for tearing people down. The ministry of the Prophet goes beyond edification, exhortation and comfort but that is beyond the scope of this post, suffice it to say the ministry or office of the Prophet in the New Testament is a foundational ministry in the Church together with the Apostolic ministry.

Every believer can and should operate in the gift of prophesy, the Lord urges us to desire it earnestly, He calls on us to desire it above all the other gifts  because He knows we – His body – need it very much and for that reason He desires to use you to prophesy, to speak what He reveals to you to others. In His wisdom, God has made a way for us to learn how to operate in this gift, and as we learn we become bolder and more fluent in flowing with the Spirit. Let me quickly state this fact: we cannot improve on the gifts of the Spirit; they are already perfect gifts from the Perfect One. What we can and are ENCOURAGED to do is to LEARN HOW TO BETTER FLOW or OPERATE in the Gift of Prophecy

³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. – 1 Corinthians 14:31 NKJV

Start where you are, if God reveals something to you for someone else and impresses upon you to share it with them, the in love, step out by faith and share it, even if it is a one liner such as “rest in the Lord” or “I love you” or “I’m with you”, that might be exactly what the other person needs to hear at that time. Don’t hold back and wait until you can prophesy paragraphs and chapters; faithfully start with what He reveals to you. Do not let fear hold you back, the Lord desires to bless others through you.

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It is the enemy who doesn’t want them to be blessed and certainly doesn’t want you to step out in faith and obedience to God, he will attempt to immobilize you with fear, but as the Word says, we are not ignorant of his devices…so now that you know this, bask in the love of God for you and His people and all that fear will be cast out as you respond to His love by stepping out in faith, you see, whenever you obey God, you offend the devil, so why not make it a habit to obey God every step of the way!      

Desire the gift of prophecy today and as you do, delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart - the gift of prophecy being one of those desires! And as opportunities for encouraging, exhorting or comforting others open up before you, may the love of God in you cause you to step out in faith and share what the Lord reveals to you. Become a blessing to someone today, prophesy!

REST YOUR WAY FROM VICTORY TO VICTORY

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” ... - Isaiah 30:15 NKJV

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; - Psalm 37:7a NIV

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When you face seemingly impossible situations, refuse to panic, refuse to fret…well, if you are thinking, how do I do that? Here’s how, just simply remind yourself of your true identity, who you are in Christ and how your Father sees you, remind yourself of the fact and the knowledge that you are eternally and perfectly loved by your Heavenly Father and that He is actively taking care of every detail of your life. Doing that will give you a proper perspective, God’s perspective, the right perspective on the circumstances. That way the situations you are facing will not overwhelm you.

As the Good book declares, God does not lie, He says what He means and means what He says. He said He is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should change His mind (Numbers 23:19). He is in you and has promised to be with you always, He's promised to supply all your needs, He won't leave you hanging, He gave His son Jesus, His very best for you, He surely will not withhold anything else from you. All His promises to us in Christ are “yes”! (2 Corinthians 1:20)

He never goes back on His promises. He doesn’t just give us promises of provision, protection and supply but He also has the power to see to it that His promises don’t fall to the ground. In other words, He backs up what He says... Once we have His word, we know it is as good as done, that’s the God we believe in.

The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.- 1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV

When Jesus saw people languishing under heavy burdens of guilt, shame, worry, anxiety, fear, condemnation, despair and all sorts of bondages, He was moved with compassion and called them to Himself, He invited them come and find rest in Him and to learn how to truly live and enjoy life in Him. Jesus came to set the captives free and His invitation to rest in Him stands to this very day.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 NIV  

Should you tempted to become restless or if stress tries to sneak up on you, may the Holy Spirit remind you that you are “yoked” or “united” together with Christ, as the Word says, He who is united or “yoked” together with the Lord is one with Him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17) and that truth alone will empower you to confidently rest in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

It is interesting to note that, what Adam and Eve did the very next day after being created, was to rest. It was the seventh day and they hadn’t even begun their assigned job of tending the garden yet, they started by resting with God first! That’s how God wants you to approach life, from a position of rest. You are in the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, rest in Him and receive divine strength, wisdom and strategies to face and overcome all challenges that the world, the enemy and the flesh might be throwing at you. Rest in Him and be empowered to effectively and efficiently do what He has called and commissioned you to do. Rest in Him by actively believing, meditating and confessing His promises to you. Let your confidence be in your Father, the Creator of all things and not on any created thing.

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Many times, it is fear and unbelief that keep us from resting in the Lord; may the Holy Spirit continually remind us of the truth that we are eternally and perfectly loved by the Father and His perfect love casts out fear from our hearts (1 John 4:18). Let us choose to believe His Word and by doing so deny fear a foothold in our minds. May this eternal truth be settled in our hearts, God loves us, He loved us even when we were steeped in sin, He loves every single person perfectly and eternally, and that is why He wants everyone to come to the saving knowledge of the truth, that is to to know and believe in Jesus and what He has done for them and to confess Him as Lord.

We can confidently come before the Father only because of what Christ has done, He paid the price for all of our sin past, present and future on the cross, He died and rose again on the third day so that through faith in Him we are counted as righteous before God and He does not keep a record of our sins; knowing and believing that will drive away any fear that tries to come between you and God. It is not about you, it is about Jesus and through His perfect sacrifice you have been made righteous. In Him you are a saint, not a sinner!

Return to your position of rest in Christ today, instead of trusting in your own good deeds, put your trust in Him and His promises to you! Rest your way from victory to victory in Jesus today!

GOD'S GLORY: It's IN and ON YOU, believe it!

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The glory of God is His majesty and splendour, His glory is the weightiness, in Hebrew – Kabod of His presence. Even though God is Omnipresent, the manifestation of His glory signified His presence was at that place, many have witnessed this in various settings. I believe in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were intimately acquainted with the glory of God and they were actually full of it themselves but when they sinned, they tried to hide away from God, by avoiding the appearance of His glory, His presence in the garden.

No wonder the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to pen this verse:

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23 NIV

When Adam and Eve sinned, they fell short of the glory of God and the entire human race did so by default. The glory of God continued to appear to people from time to time though. This alone should give us an idea of how much God loves us and wants to restore us to Himself. He longs for us, He truly does and the Good News is, He has made the one and only WAY for us to be reconciled with Him and that is through Jesus, His Son.

The nation of Israel saw the glory of God (Exodus 16:10), prophets did too (Ezekiel 43:2) and so did many others. The Ark of the Covenant in the OT was a symbol, or a shadow if you will, of the presence and the Glory of God among His people. When the nation of Israel disobeyed God and the ark of the covenant was captured and taken away – the glory was said to have departed (1 Samuel 4:21)

Fast forward to the NT, towards the end of His ministry Jesus our Lord, prayed this way:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. – John 17: 1-5 NIV

But He didn’t end His prayer there, knowing full well that He was going to settle the sin question once and for all for us by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross, He prayed for us and I believe His prayer was answered:

²² I have given them the glory that you gave me…– John 17:22a NIV

So child of God, you who believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you who believe that Jesus Christ has taken care of all your sins, you who trust in His finished work on the cross to save you and make you righteous, you have not fallen short of the glory of God, on the contrary you are filled with it.You have received His life in you and since you are now His temple, His dwelling place as it were, God the Holy Spirit lives in you.

Let me hasten to assure you that God wants you to share in His glory otherwise Jesus wouldn't have prayed the way He did. All those scriptures about "God not sharing His glory with another or with idols" (Isaiah 42:8) or "not touching His glory" are not in contradiction to Jesus' prayer. Notice, God didn't want idols or another "god" (the devil and his cohorts) to be given His glory. He freely shared it with His own, the Bible is replete with accounts of His glory being manifested in and through His people. Again take note of the fact that it was the unbelievers, the ungodly, who got their just desserts as it were, when they attempted to "touch" God's glory, Herod and his famed speech come to mind.    

In the OT they had the Ark of the Covenant which signified God’s presence, that was a shadow; in the NT we have the real thing, the substance, Christ in us the hope of Glory. We have the presence of God in us and unlike the OT times where the glory departed and returned depending on how well they kept the Law, we have a New Covenant built on better promises, He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus said:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  – John 14:16-17 NIV

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You have the glory of God in you and on you, and it does not fade away, the presence of God is with you, whether you feel it or not, the Word says it and that should settle it for us, as our faith is to be based on what HE says not on how WE feel. Once you settle this truth in your heart you will be emboldened to do what He has called you to do. You will experientially know what the Prophet Isaiah meant when He prophesied saying:

then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. – Isaiah 58:8b NIV

Our righteousness is not a result of our self effort, it is through Christ, it is His, it is imputed to us when we believe Him and now since we are in Him, it is His righteousness that  goes before us and it is His glory covers us. We stand before God without any sense of sin, guilt or condemnation just like Adam and Eve did before they fell. May we be renewed by this truth and all sin consciousness be purged from our minds.

Believe the Word of God, be bold, you are full of the glory of God, you are the light of your world, let His glory shine forth from within you. Believe His Word and see His glory manifested in and through you today. I’ll leave you with these words from our Elder Brother:

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” – John 11:40 NIV

Blessings!

INTERCESSION 101: The New Testament Way

Intercession in the New Testament (NT) is very different from intercession in the Old Testament (OT). In the OT intercessors stood as it were, between God and people, pleading with and begging God to spare them from His anger and judgement after they had rebelled against His commands. 

God would send prophets to warn them, to get them to turn from their rebellious ways, with promises of restoration and blessings if they do, or face His judgement if they don’t. Many would fast and pray, crying out to God for mercy, they would even don sackcloth and smear ashes on themselves as a sign of contrition and repentance.

Abraham is the first “intercessor”, if you will, mentioned in the Bible. After learning of God’s impending judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah, he interceded for those two cities and God listened to Him and I believe He would've spared those cities if there were just ten righteous people in them, too bad those two cities combined didn't have ten righteous people in them. How sad is that (Genesis 18:16-33).

Moses also pleaded with God not to destroy Israel and even asked God to “repent”, and guess what… the Almighty, thrice Holy, perfectly sinless God repented, yes He did, God changed His mind, God relented! (Exodus 32:14) And that’s not the only record we have of God “repenting”, there are several others . Now, as much as I’m tempted to go off on a tangent to address the "repenting of God spoken of in the Scriptures" or the prevalent incorrect interpretations given to the word “repentance” by many today, I’ll refrain…I choose to stay on topic…Intercession, intercession, intercession…

Daniel interceded for His people the nation of Israel, he confessed his sins and the sins of the whole nation and God heard him and responded to him  (Daniel 9:1-23).

In the OT we see people mediating between God and man, and God honoring their intercession with His mercy and grace. God even actively looked for those who would intercede, those who would "stand in the gap" to avert judgement on the land (Ezekiel 22:30). This kind of intercession was acceptable at that time, as it was a type foreshadowing the perfect sacrifice of Christ that would ultimately take away sin that had separated man from God.  

The moment the perfect sacrifice of the perfect lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was offered on the cross, this type of intercession became obsolete. Right now Jesus, our Lord is in the very presence of the Father interceding for us, eternally. Here’s what the Word says:

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. – Hebrews 7:25 NIV

Today we should not be interceding for others following the OT pattern. There is only ONE MEDIATOR between God and man and that is JESUS. Jesus is the one who makes intercession for us before the Father. So for the New Testament Christian today to go about in sackcloth and ashes, fasting and  praying, crying out to God and interceding that He wouldn't destroy a nation is  unnecessary. It is an exercise in futility at best and an insult to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ at worst. The thing is, no one can improve on, nor add on to what Christ has done.  

So, what is the role of the NT intercessor today? I'm glad you asked.

Well, first of all, in Christ we are all called to be intercessors, the Scriptures calls each one of us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Luke 18:1, Ephesians 6:18). We are ALL called to pray for all men and women, and for those in authority. Prayer is not a ministry assigned to a chosen few. Each one of us is the temple of the Holy Spirit and He helps us, each one of us, to pray according to the will of God. Remember in Matthew 21:13 Jesus said “My house will be called a house of prayer…”  guess what! You are His house, His dwelling place.

We have plenty of examples in the NT where the church prayed together or where believers prayed for one another for various reasons ranging from boldness in ministry to healing and so on.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. – 1 Timothy 2:1-6 NIV

Intercession in the NT is not for God to spare nations of His wrath and impending judgement but for people to be saved and come to know Jesus, who is the Truth, the Way and the Life. The apostles and believers in the early church never practiced OT style intercession, not even once! They prayed for believers to be strengthened in their faith, the Apostle Paul prayed for believers to be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. He prayed for the eyes of their understanding to be enlightened so that they may know who they were in Christ, their hope in Him, and the riches of their glorious inheritance that is in Him (Ephesians 1:17-19).

The early church prayed for open doors and opportunities to spread the Good News of God’s grace and salvation. Even as they were threatened and persecuted, they prayed for boldness to keep on preaching the Gospel because they knew what was at stake, that is, souls of people whom Christ had already died for. It is God’s desire to save every single person without exception, He doesn't want anyone to perish.

Jesus told us to pray that God will send forth laborers into the fields for the harvest is ready and it is plenteous, now that is NT intercession. And as we each allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into this type of intercession we will see the fruit of it, for it is the very heart of God himself.

³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” – Matthew 9:37-38 NIV     

As we begin to intercede this way, we will find ourselves quickly being reminded by the Holy Spirit that we've already been recruited and equipped for the harvest.

¹⁵ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. – Mark 16:15 KJV

Is it any wonder that they were said to have overturned their then known world with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

…“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” – Acts 17:6b NKJV

So go ahead, intercede the NT way and experience the power of the resurrected Christ, the Savior of the world, flow through you to save, heal, deliver and bless others.

In Christ, you are already blessed!