When GOD Asks...

When the Lord asks you a question it is not because He doesn’t know the answer. God’s questions are meant to grab our attention and draw us closer to Him. Questions are one of the many means He employs to get us to stop whatever we are doing, observe and see things the way He sees them. His questions are often an invitation to fellowship and intimacy with Him. 

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Remember whenever He asked the prophets of old questions, He was setting them up for glorious displays of His power. God asked the prophet Ezekiel, “can these dry bones live?” (Ezekiel 37) when the prophet wasn’t sure, instead of rebuking him, God simply commanded him to prophesy to the dry bones and lo and behold, the unthinkable happened, the dry bones came alive again. When God asked Zechariah, “what do you see?” (Zechariah 5:2) and Zechariah answered, He said “you’ve seen well” and then proceeded to reveal to him what’s to come.  

The enemy’s questions, on the contrary, however subtle or harmless they may seem, seek to instill doubt and unbelief. All his questions are direct or indirect accusations against God and His Word. The enemy knows that as long as we entertain doubt and unbelief, we won’t be as effective in destroying his works. The moment we succumb to the enemy’s warped sense of reasoning, we open ourselves up to shame, fear, guilt and condemnation which in turn undermines our confidence to come before our loving Heavenly Father.  

The first ever question God asked man was in the garden of Eden, He called out to Adam and Eve:

⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” – Genesis 3:9 NIV  

Adam and Eve were given an opportunity, an invitation to come before God. They fellowshipped with God daily up to this one day when they ran away from Him after disobeying by eating from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is important to notice what caused them to run and hide wasn't so much because they were sorry that they had disobeyed God, no it was because they “were naked”  – talk about shame, guilt and fear all rolled into one.

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” – Genesis 3:10 NIV

Entertaining the enemy’s questions will not only get you to doubt and disobey God, but they will also weigh you down with shame and fear. The enemy seeks to paint a skewed, distorted picture of God in our minds and all his questions, suggestions and temptations are geared toward that very end. He knows that if he can get us to doubt God’s character, if he can get us to believe that God doesn't really love us or that He doesn't really care for us, or the He hasn't really forgiven us, then he can draw us away from God and right into destruction.

The enemy wants you to focus on yourself and not on Christ, your Lord and Savior and what He has already done for you and as long as he can get you to do that, then he’s got you exactly where he wants you. Every single time you look at yourself you’ll see shortcomings and imperfections, he’ll make sure of that, and before you know it, you are so weighed down with guilt and condemnation that you cannot even bring yourself to pray. He’ll even whisper in your ear “you’re not really saved, you can’t be”. Don’t let him fool you, remember he is a liar!

The Word is your assurance that you are saved, the Holy Spirit within you witnesses with your spirit that you are a child of God. If you have believed in Jesus and confessed Him as your Lord, according to Romans 10:8-10, you are saved. Don’t go with your feelings or even your actions, stick to the Word.

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. – Romans 10:8-10 NIV

Now that we've established your salvation from the Word of God, it is important to also know and believe what the Word says about you being IN Christ.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus – Romans 8:1 NIV

Remember, in Christ you have also been given the gift of non-imputation of sin, that is God is not keeping a record of your sin, for He said..

¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. – Hebrews 8:12 NIV   

God’s questions are an expression of His love towards us, when He asks us something it is because He wants to reveal more of Himself to us in ways that we've never experienced before. His questions are opportunities for us to grow in our knowledge of Him, He so wants to reveal Himself to you, so when you hear His voice, harden not your heart.  

He loves you unconditionally, unreservedly, completely and eternally!

MINISTRY GIFTS 101… Part 6

This article rounds up our brief discussion on what is commonly referred to as the Five Fold Ministry Gifts. Here are the links to our previous discussions in this mini-series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

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One thing I've tried to consistently and deliberately do in all the Ministry Gift articles, is not to use the term “Office” when referring to the Five Fold Ministry Gifts. I feel using the term “Office” gives this idea that these Gifts are akin to the secular jobs or vocations we have and sadly, out of ignorance some treat their calls and ministries as such.

The fact of the matter is, it is the individuals who are called to these five “offices” that are the Ministry Gifts. It is not like they step into a ministry role or perform a ministry function and then step out of it and go home. They  are the Ministry Gift itself, they have been given to the Church as such. What does the Word  say:

⁸ Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men. – Ephesians 4:8 NKJV

Then in verse 11 of the same chapter we read:

¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers – Ephesians 4:11 NKJV

Let’s now turn our attention to the Ministry Gift of the Prophet. This Ministry Gift appears in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Many have incorrectly believed that there aren't any true Prophets of God in the Church today. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that there were Prophets, not just one prophet but many, in the early church. In the Book of Acts we read:

¹ Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers – Acts 13:1a NIV

And again we see,

²⁷ And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. – Acts 11:27 NKJV

The NT Prophet is a building ministry working together with the Apostle in revealing the risen Christ in His glory and grace as the foundation upon which His church is built. In addressing the Ephesian Church, the Apostle Paul said this:

¹⁹ …you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. – Ephesians 2:19-20 NIV  

There are similarities as well as glaring differences between the OT and NT Prophet. The similarities begin with their titles, obviously! In both Testaments they are called “Prophet”. In both Testaments they hear from God via dreams, visions, trances, the Word etc.and in obedience speak out what He tells them. 

In both Testaments Prophets bring God’s message, His Word to people. In both Testaments we see Prophets using a variety of ways to bring God’s message, they may employ stories with object lessons (as the case was with Nathan and David, 2 Samuel 12:1-15 ) or a dramatic expression (as the case was with Agabus with Paul, Acts 21:11-12).

Now onto the differences, In the OT only the Prophets, Kings and Priests had the Holy Spirit on them, the rest of the people did not. People needed a go-between, to communicate with God. Priests represented the people to God and Prophets represented God to the people. In the NT, because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice of Himself, every believer has the Holy Spirit in them, we are sons of God with full unreserved access into the Father’s presence.

We don’t need a go-between, we can hear His voice and are to be led primarily, by His Spirit within us. Jesus said “my sheep hear and know my voice” (John 10:27) However, there are times when God may to use Prophets to speak to us, the difference is, it is God who initiates and orchestrates it, we are not to go around pressuring the Prophets among us to give us a “word from the Lord”, that borders on idolatry.

Another huge difference is the fact that in the OT, the Prophet was a loner, usually a bit eccentric too, in the NT Prophets are an active part of the local assembly and are submitted and accountable to one another and to the other Ministry Gifts within the Church. Any mature Pastoral Ministry worth its weight in gold will be wary of Prophets who aren't part of any local assembly and quite rightly so. The Prophetic Ministry must be held accountable and so must the other Ministry Gifts and the best place for accountability is within a local fellowship where one has to submit themselves to others in obedience to the Word of God.

The Ministry Gift of the Prophet goes beyond the gift of prophecy. While the gift of Prophecy is confined to edification, exhortation and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3) the Prophetic Ministry, like the Apostolic Ministry, can bring confirmation, impartation, direction, correction and even pronounce judgement.   

Prophets will strengthen and encourage believers. They will also confirm what the Lord saying or doing in a local assembly or in an individuals life.

³² And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. - Acts 15:32 KJV

Prophets are graced with the authority and ability to impart giftings to others by the laying on of their hands and by prophecy.

¹⁴ Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through rophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. – 1 Timothy 4:14 NIV

The Prophetic Ministry Gift also brings correction to the Body by confronting and demolishing strongholds that may be holding people in bondage to sin or self-righteousness. In Revelations, the most prophetic book in the NT and in the Epistles we have examples of prophetic corrections and warnings given to the Church. True Prophetic Ministry will call the Bride into alignment with the heart of the Bridegroom, always.   

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Prophetic Ministry will often reveal things or events whether spiritual or natural that are to take place within a certain time period, as Agabus the Prophet, foretold of the famine that was to hit the entire Roman world then and it did happen (Acts 11:27-28) This is an example of how this Ministry Gift enables the church to be prepared for what the immediate future holds. Didn’t Jesus say the Holy Spirit will reveal to us what is to come? (John 16:13)

Prophetic Ministry also forth-tells  that is, speaks of what God is saying now, this moment and it is either through inspired revelational preaching or teaching or through a combination of the revelatory gifts of the Holy Spirit, ie, the Word of Knowledge, the Word of Wisdom, Discerning of Spirits and of course through the gift of Prophecy.

Let’s embrace the Ministry Gift of the Prophet and by it be trained to hear, discern and flow with God’s agenda for His glory. Let us encourage the Prophets that our Lord has placed as His gifts among us.

MINISTRY GIFTS 101… Part 5

For the past few days we've discussed various Ministry Gifts, you may want to check out what we've already covered here: Part 1, Part 2,Part 3 and Part 4

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We will now turn our attention to another Ministry Gift that the Head of the Church has given to His church. This Ministry Gift is largely responsible for grounding believers in the Word of God by making the truths revealed in the Word accessible and applicable. This gift is uniquely graced with the ability to take the abstract and make it practical, that’s the Ministry Gift of the Teacher.

Not to be confused with the secular teacher who has to go through formal training, certification and licensing, this Ministry Gift is not a product of formal religious education (not that formal education isn't important, far from it). This Ministry Gift proceeds from the Master Teacher, our Chief Rabbi, Jesus Christ Himself. The Lord promised us that He will send the Holy Spirit to come and be our Teacher. I’m convinced that He not only teaches each of us privately, but He also uses this Ministry Gift to teach us and remind us of everything He has told us in His Word.

²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. – John 14:26 NIV

Just as it is with all of the Ministry Gifts, one may be used in a certain ministry without them being that particular Ministry Gift. All may evangelize even though all are not an Evangelists. All may prophesy but not all are prophets, we may operate apostolically without being Apostles; in the same way, not all who teach are Teachers.

The Ministry of the Teacher is one of unveiling the Truth - Christ - and as the saints behold Christ, they are gradually being transformed into His image by the Holy Spirit who is constantly at work within the believer and teacher alike. That’s how we go from glory to glory and that glorifies God.

An effective New Testament Teaching Ministry will always unveil Jesus, with a focus on His finished work and what that actually means to the believer today. Through this Ministry Gift, the grace of God is dispensed to believers as they are made aware of the New Covenant they have with God through the perfect sacrifice of Christ.       

What sets apart the Teaching Ministry Gift is not only how they teach, but also what they teach and the authority with which they teach. They are sent by the Head of the Church, Christ Jesus, and through them He is both building and equipping His Church. Building His Church into His own spiritual dwelling place (Ephesians 2:22, 1 Peter 2:5) and equipping it for the work of the ministry to His Body and to the unreached as well (Ephesians 4:12-12).

When Jesus taught, the authority that accompanied His teaching was evident to all present. The Word of God says:

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. – Matthew 7:28-29 NIV

When Jesus taught, it wasn't with empty words, He didn't employ grand abstract scholarly concepts that only a few highly educated folks could grasp, on the contrary all His parables were to do with everyday life realities, something all His hearers could relate to or identify with, thus making His teachings even more effective. Not only that, when Jesus taught, the power of God was present to meet the needs of the people.

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. – Luke 5:17 NIV  

This same grace is on the Teachers He has placed in His Church today. The Teacher’s heart desires to impart knowledge and to see that knowledge lead to transformation in the lives of their hearers. This Ministry Gift is not interested in how much Scripture one has memorized or knows but on how much growth and transformation has happened as a result of one’s knowledge and application of the Scriptures.

You see, the Teacher knows full well that it is the truth that one knows, (believes and acts on) that will set them free. This Ministry Gift is acutely aware of the dangers of piling up knowledge upon knowledge without practicing what has already been taught. Teachers are very much aware of the fact that pride and deception can creep in if all people do is collect teaching after teaching without putting what they already know into practice. The Word is clear, knowledge puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1) and being a hearer and not a doer of the Word leads to deception (James 1:22). This Ministry Gift does not teach with mere words, but would often model what they teach with their own lives. No wonder the Apostle Paul after teaching Corinthian church for a while, could boldly say to them, “follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1)    

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Teachers will often accurately assess the maturity level of the people they are ministering to and then under the unction of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher-in-residence, proceed to bring forth teachings appropriate to that audience. Teachers complement the other Ministry Gifts in the sense that they are graced with the ability to take what the other Ministry Gifts bring to the Body and from the Word of God, correctly break them down into bite size portions as it were, and then proceed to draw practical applications from what was presented, and so enrich the Body greatly.

This Ministry Gift, though may be itinerant from congregation to congregation, it does however, spend considerable time within a local body teaching and edifying the saints so that they are established in sound doctrine. This Ministry Gift equips believers with the wherewithal to rightly divide the Word of Truth and consequently walk in confidence and victory to the glory of God.

The New Testament Ministry Gift of the Teacher takes to heart this charge:

You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. – Titus 2:15 NIV

MINISTRY GIFTS 101… Part 4

I had initially thought of just sharing about Ministry Gifts in general not knowing it would turn out to be quite a mini-series. You may check out the other Ministry Gift blog articles here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

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In this article, we’ll turn our attention to the Ministry Gift of the Evangelist and again let me point out that this too, like the other articles, is simply a basic overview, not an exhaustive study (no, not by any stretch) of the Ministry Gifts we are discussing.

The word “Evangelist” means “the bearer of good news”. The Evangelist will seize any and every opportunity, regardless of how it presents itself to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Evangelist has only one agenda, and that is to get people saved. In the New Testament we see the account of Philip, the Evangelist. When the authorities decided to persecute believers in Jerusalem, the church was scattered, most of them fled from Jerusalem, save for the Apostles ( Acts 8:1) as true Apostolic Ministry will not be intimidated by persecution.

As the church scattered, they went everywhere preaching the Word; Philip went to Samaria and being an Evangelist took that opportunity to preach the Good News of Christ to the Samaritans with miracles, signs and wonders following his ministry, many Samaritans believe the Gospel and a great revival broke out in Samaria.

⁵ Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. ⁶ And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷ For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed with them; and many taken with palsies and who were lame, were healed. ⁸ And there was great joy in that city. – Acts 8:5-8 KJ21

As we've seen, signs, wonders and miracles are part and parcel of the Ministry Gift of the Evangelist. They proclaim the Word of God, the Good News about Jesus Christ, who He is and what He’s done for everyone and the the Lord Himself backs up their proclamations with signs, wonders and miracles confirming the Word which is being proclaimed. This Ministry Gift directly obeys our Lord’s command to preach the gospel to every person.

¹⁵ And He said unto them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. – Mark 16:15 KJ21

And the Lord in response confirms what the Evangelists are proclaiming by signs, wonders and miracles. This is the reason we see many healings, deliverances, miraculous signs and wonders in Evangelistic campaigns, they confirm the Word that is being preached.

²⁰ And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen. – Mark 16:20 KJ21

Mature Evangelists do not bring messages of fear and condemnation, they do not scare people into the Kingdom of God, they are not in the business of manipulating people to repeat a prayer or sign a card, they don’t dilute or tweak the Gospel to get a “favorable” response, no they are not in it for some selfish ulterior motive, they aren't interested in making a name for themselves, they are more interested in seeing people genuinely being translated from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light, the Kingdom of God’s dear Son, Jesus!

Evangelists draw people with their proclamation of the Good News that everyone can be reconciled to God through believing in Jesus and what He’s done for them, that is He has taken all their sin, guilt and shame on His body on the Cross, how He died and rose again and that He’s made a way for everyone to be totally, completely and absolutely accepted before God without any reservations whatsoever.

⁹ that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. – Romans 10:9-10 KJ21

The heart of the Evangelist is to get people saved and delivered from every bondage the enemy has held them captive to. The Evangelist will call people to Jesus, telling them and reminding them that it is only through Him that we can be saved from eternal separation from God and the eternal damnation in hell. As the Word declares:

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12 KJ21

This Ministry Gift has the highest frequency of itinerancy of all the Ministry Gifts; they are always moving on to the next harvest field as it were. Looking at the ministry of Philip the Evangelist again we see this pattern. After revival broke out in Samaria and the Apostles came down from Jerusalem to establish the Church in Samaria, Philip doesn't hang around to claim any leadership position in the new church which he was instrumental in planting, he isn't after fame or fortune. He leaves the apostles to take care of establishing the new believers in Samaria and goes to the desert in obedience to God’s instructions via an angel.

I wonder how many Evangelists today would up and go right in the middle of a revival … and not just go … but go into some desert in obedience to God’s direction?! I have this sneaky suspicion that some would even try to bind that “angel of light” that's telling them to go to some road in the desert when clearly revival is happening where they are and they are the ones who were instrumental in ushering it in…I hope I’m wrong on that one…

The Evangelist is a people person, this Ministry Gift reaches out and touches people with its disarming openness and genuineness which flows from a heart of love. Evangelists are genuinely interested in people, they are uniquely graced with the ability to easily converse with those they meet. This grace is evidenced in the way they can steer any conversation in the direction of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for their audience. The Evangelist will use any and every means at their disposal to preach the Gospel.

The message of the Evangelist doesn't change depending on the size of the audience, whether it’s an audience of one as the case was with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:27-39) or a multitude, as was the case with Paul functioning as an Evangelist to the crowds in Athens (Acts 16:17-34).

Evangelists equip the Church to boldly step out in faith to proclaim, not to  explain, not to reason and certainly not to debate the Gospel but to proclaim it, to declare it, to announce it, yes to preach it and as we do, the Lord is faithful to His promise, He will back up those declarations about His love, His goodness, His mercy, His justice, His judgement and His grace in and through Christ with signs following.

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Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church has given this Ministry Gift to His Body so that by it we may be equipped to effectively reach out to unbelievers with the Good News of the Gospel. This Ministry Gift is extremely effective when it comes to getting people to be reconciled to God through Christ.

Every saint needs to sit under this Ministry Gift on a regular basis and good Shepherds knowing that the fields are ready for harvest will endeavor to make it a priority to bring in this Ministry Gift to equip believers with a practical and proven Evangelistic model that glorifies the risen Christ.

In closing let us all, regardless of our callings and our giftings, heed the inspired instructions of the Apostle Paul:

⁵ But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. – 2 Timothy 4:5 NKJV  

Beloved, we may not all be Evangelists but we’re all called to do the work of an Evangelist, and He who has called us is faithful, He will enable us.

MINISTRY GIFTS 101…Part 3

You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

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Before we move on to explore the other Ministry Gifts, let me reiterate that what I am presenting here isn't exhaustive by any stretch, if anything these are simply overviews or outlines if you will.  I am just sharing my understanding of these gifts and how they operate as I see them in the light of Scripture.

Now on to the Ministry Gift of Pastor. This is by far the most popular gift in the Church today; many believers don’t even think twice about calling someone by the title of “Pastor”, it almost becomes the minister’s first name, you’ll often hear people talking about or addressing the minister as  “Pastor so-and-so” many times over, but “Prophet so-and-so” or “Apostle so-and-so”… hmm not so much! Why is that? Aren't they all Ministry Gifts given to the Church by the Head of the Church Himself?

This mindset is a result of misunderstanding what Ministry Gifts are; here’s my take, we've erroneously viewed these gifts as the ruling class or  the higher ups and big bosses in the Church. This in turn gave rise to the twisted idea of ranking the Five Fold Ministry gifts from what we figured was the greatest to the least, in this order: the Apostle, followed by the Prophet, followed by the Evangelist, then the Teacher and lastly, the Pastor. We then equated them to levels of promotions to be earned by ministers. That is, one starts from the lowest level which is Pastor and then climbs the ministry ladder as it were and who knows, they might make Apostle, just like how one would start from janitor to CEO in a corporation. Nothing could be further from the truth!

We should respect and honor all gifts, yes, but let us not forget they are gifts given to the Church to equip us for ministry, to help us mature and fulfill our destinies in the Lord, not to lord it over us with their own self-serving motives. It is Christ who gives these Ministry Gifts as He wills, we neither apply nor work our way into them. It is my prayer that we will be mature enough to recognize, confirm and embrace the Ministry Gifts He has placed in our midst. They are also part of the Body of Christ and are servants not despots and that they too are growing in different areas too, they haven’t arrived yet…no one has. We are not in competition with one another, we are on the same team just playing different positions. We have a common goal. That's a much better approach, don't you think?  

We've also erroneously thought if we called ourselves Pastor even though we are a Prophet we are being humble and that's because we have believed the lie that being a Pastor is the lowest ministry gift and being a Prophet is somehow more superior, believe me, there nothing humble about that, actually it is a form of pride. The rampant religiosity isn't helping either, it’s making things worse, we hear phrases like “touch not the Lord’s anointed” being thrown around by some attempting to exert authority, the fleshly kind, over believers and that is so not scriptural. 

As for being the Lord’s anointed, I submit to you that if you are in Christ, you too are the Lord’s anointed for His anointing is in you and abides in you (1 John 2:27) It’s unfortunate that some individuals have come in and twisted Scriptures to justify their tyranny over the saints. I believe every Ministry Gift and more so the Pastoral one, must be ready to gently and patiently converse with others even when they are in opposition to them.

²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ²⁵ in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, - 2 Timothy 2:24-25 NKJV    

As under-shepherds  under Christ the Chief Shepherd, Pastors tend and feed the flock of God, the Church. Pastoral ministry will always look out for the welfare of the flock, ready to protect the flock by exposing and fending off danger. The same cannot be said of hirelings who creep into this ministry for what they can get and are ready to bolt out the door at the very first sign of trouble, leaving the flock to helplessly fend for itself.

Who else is well suited to pen what I’ll term as “the Pastoral Manifesto” than the Apostle Peter, who was charged (three times, I might add) by the Chief Shepherd in John 21:15-17 to tend His sheep. Years later, here is what the Apostle said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: ² Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; ³ nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; ⁴ and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away – 1 Peter 5:1-4 NKJV

This Ministry Gift is endowed with the graces of nurturing and governments; Many times Pastors literally take care of spiritual as well as physical needs of believers. They also oversee the flock and following the pattern set for them by the Good Shepherd, Christ himself, they lead the sheep besides still waters, where they can drink, be refreshed and rest in safety. Pastoral Ministry puts a high premium on the flock being well fed and well taken care of. Pastoral ministry does not give up on the weak and the feeble among the flock, instead Pastors willingly devote themselves to nursing the weak and wounded back to health and vitality.

Pastoral Ministry will seek to bring other Ministry Gifts into their local assemblies for the equipping and edification of the saints, for their desire is to see each saint grow and fulfill their destiny in Christ. This can be likened to “making the flock lie down in green pastures”, a picture of a well fed, contented and restful flock.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. – Psalm 23:1-2 NKJV

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Pastoral Ministry rejoices in seeing growth, maturity and multiplication in the flock, as the very heart of this gift is to see each saint increasingly reflecting the One they confess and proclaim as their Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Let me also quickly say this: I strongly believe that every Ministry Gift stands to benefit greatly from having the input of a Pastoral Ministry, in other words, Ministry Gifts should be part of a local body of believers, just like it was in the early church, not lone rangers, doing their own thing with no accountability whatsoever.

Let us embrace the Ministry Gift of Pastor, submit to it joyfully, be equipped by it and be truly competent ministers of the Good News to those who don’t yet know Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

Much blessings to you!    

MINISTRY GIFTS 101…Part 2

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Now that we’ve established the truth that all the Five Ministry Gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 are in the Church today, let us go one step further and look at each one of them, albeit briefly as we certainly won’t be able to exhaust what each gift entails.

Let’s start with what I perceive to be the most misunderstood gift of all today, the Apostle. This gift is still in the church today, it didn’t end with the 12. There were others who were apostles in the early church, Barnabas and Paul come to mind.

        ¹⁴ …the apostles Barnabas and Paul… - Acts 14:14 NIV

Now, the Apostle is not some egomaniac of a boss throwing his or her weight around in the church demanding loyalty and submission, that’s a no Apostle of Christ,  that’s more like a control freak driven by their own insecurities and pride, always seeking to manipulate and control others through a variety of ways including but not limited to, peddling fear, guilt and condemnation, making the finished work of Christ seem insufficient without following their other list of steps and/or “deep revelations”.   

What exactly do Apostles do? The short and clear answer to that question is simply this, Apostles lay foundations with Christ being the Chief cornerstone, they are forerunners when it comes to spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom. Apostles will typically seek to open up new areas of ministry as well as establish new ministries. They are graced with the fortitude, the wisdom and the authority to not just start new works but to also establish them in the Lord. Peter went to the Jews and Paul to the gentiles (Galatians 2:9)

Apostles establish believers in the Word of God and nurture them into maturity so that these saints are able to go and reproduce, so in a sense Apostles are spiritual parents. True mature Apostles are careful not to make the saints dependent on them, they aren't fans of what I would call “pastor dependent Christianity” and that’s one reason they work tirelessly to get them grounded in the Lord and in His Word, so they can stand on their own feet, spiritually speaking. Paul exemplified this trait throughout his ministry, he preached, he taught, he warned and in some cases with tears, he interceded for the saints, his sole desire was to see Christ formed in them (Galatians 4:19)

They are the only Ministry Gift that has within it the grace to operate in all of the other Ministry Gifts should the need arise. The Apostles in the early church taught, preached the Gospel, pastored and operated prophetically. The Apostolic ministry has within it the gift of government, Apostles have the grace and authority to install leadership in ministries they have pioneered and established. Absent of any other mitigating factors, no true Apostle would be comfortable installing elders over a ministry they haven’t pioneered.    

As soon as a ministry they started is fully functional, Apostles would be ready to move on to open up other areas of ministry. That’s just how they are, they are pioneers at heart, it’s in their DNA as it were, and that’s probably one reason they aren't understood or well received in some circles. They won’t be satisfied settling down to pastoring in one location for the entire duration of their ministry, however successful the church or ministry they started may be. 

Apostles will typically up and go when the Lord tells them to, they know He’ll take care of them, things like “job security” are not in their vocabulary.

Apostles know that persecution and mistreatment, even martyrdom is their lot, they are not looking for the praise of men (Galatians 1:10); they seek to please Him who has called and sent them, they model examples for all of us to follow. The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse into what the life of an Apostle of Christ is like:

⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹ To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹² We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment. – 1 Corinthians 4:9-13  NIV

I wonder how many of those who consider themselves Apostles can truthfully echo or even identify with these sobering words.

⁷ Yet grace (God’s unmerited favor) was given to each of us individually [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and bounteous] gift. – Ephesians 4:7 AMP

  

While it is true that every believer can move in signs and wonders as stated in Mark 16:17-18, and that miracles are listed fourth in 1 Corinthians 12:28,  the Apostolic Ministry is marked with unusual signs and wonders, it was so in the early church and it is so today. It is so because of the grace that goes with the gift of the Apostle. We each have been given a measure of grace according to the gift of Christ. Here are but a couple of Scriptures about signs and wonders accompanying true Apostolic ministry.

¹² The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people.- Acts 5:12a NIV

¹² Indeed, the signs that indicate a [genuine] apostle were performed among you fully and most patiently in miracles and wonders and mighty works. – 2 Corinthians 12:12 AMP

¹² Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. – Acts 15:12 NKJV

¹¹ Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul – Acts 19:11 NKJV

Wow! Paul boldly states that these signs, wonders and miracles were a mark of true apostolic ministry among the people. One thing to keep in mind is that these signs and wonders that God does through this Ministry Gift will always point people to Who the Apostle is representing, and that is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself! Any sign,wonder or miracle that doesn't pass this test, however grand it may appear, must be swiftly cast aside as its ultimate goal is to lead souls away from Christ. Anything that doesn't line up with sound doctrine according to the Word of God is to be promptly and decisively denounced, regardless of the reputation or title of the minister through which it comes.    

The enemy attempting to frustrate the work of the Kingdom of God, tries to counterfeit the Ministry Gift of the Apostle but as the Word says, we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). The Church in Ephesus (Revelations 2:2) tried those who called themselves Apostles and found them to be impostors and the Lord, the Head of the Church commended them for it. The Apostle Paul did not cease to warn the church to be vigilant against false Apostles who will try to come in with their own selfish agendas.

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.¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. – 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 NKJV

With the Holy Spirit within us as our guide, let us confidently embrace the true NT Ministry Gift of the Apostle, the genuine article and as individual members and different joints of the Body of Christ, be equipped for the work of the ministry through this foundational gift from the Head of the Body, Jesus Christ our Lord. Blessings!