Texts: John 1:14,16; John 3:34; Colossians 1:19; Hebrews 1:1-2 ; 1 Corinthians 1:4-7; 1 Peter 4:7-11
On Day Nine of the PFC, several key themes emerged from the teaching of our leader Brother Theodore Andoseh:
- When God gives a responsibility, He also provides the resources necessary to undertake the responsibility;
- Spiritual leadership flows from the abundance within;
- To each, God gives a measure of grace (spiritual wealth), according to need and purpose;
- Our need for a Collective Pentecost;
- The pathway to spiritual wealth and abundance; and
- An introduction to the Holy Spirit, our Helper. Each of these facets shall be summarised one after the other below.
When God Calls, He Provides the Resources
Expounding on the sub-topic of ‘Spiritual Resources for Spiritual Leadership’ (Day 6), Brother emphasised yet again that ‘Leadership requires Resources and Spiritual Leadership requires Spiritual Resources.’ This time, he showed clearly from the Bible that when God calls a person to a task, He provides the resources needed to carry it out:
ADAM: World Dominion – God provided all the resources required (all the trees in the Garden), with the exception of one that was not necessary for his mission (Genesis 1:27-30; Genesis 2:8-9,15-17).
NOAH: World Preservation – God gave him all the animals, with the exception of their blood (Genesis 6:21; Genesis 8:15-17 ; Genesis 9:1-7).
ABRAHAM: World Blessing – God gave him Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey (that is, no lack/scarcity/want) (Exodus 33 :1-3 ; Genesis 12:1-9 ; Genesis 13 : 14-18; Genesis 22 :1-19) : ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.’
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MOSES: The Redemption of Israel – For this mission, God gave to Moses, a revelation of Himself and the gift of miracles (Exodus 3 & 4).
SAUL: King of Israel – God supplied resources for both his personal needs and for his leadership responsibilities as the first human king of Israel (1 Samuel 9:15-24; 1 Samuel 10:1-7).
Provision of Resources: The First Sign/Proof of the Calling
The first sign of any call from/of God is the provision of resources. It is great dishonesty to claim to have received a call from God and then turn to people for support. All underhanded ‘beggarliness’, gimmicks and corrupt practices are evil and not of God!
Using the call of God for resource mobilisation is a dangerous practice. Turn to the One who called you, for the resources you need for what He called you to. Those who serve at the altar eat from the altar. As God’s worker, your salary is located within and provided in your call.
Pray that we will be a community of honest people in this matter of God’s call and the supply of resources for the call.
Spiritual Ministry Flows from an Abundance of Spiritual Wealth: The Example of the Lord Jesus Christ
Spiritual Ministry requires Spiritual Wealth. Spiritual Leadership demands an Abundance of Spiritual Resources. It is Wealth that Leads!
The Lord Jesus Christ received the fullness of the Holy Spirit limitlessly, and out of that limitless abundance, His ministry flows such that He is able to satisfy all of creation – all men, on all planets, for all time, from eternity past to eternity to come! That is what God gave the Lord Jesus for His ministry, for His leadership. Thus, in just three years and a half, He accomplished a mission and ministry that continue today.
The ministry of the Lord Jesus flows from wealth. Jesus’ leadership and ministry come from the fullness of God dwelling in Him (Colossians 1:19) – full of grace, full of truth, and full of glory. He is the heir of all things (Hebrews 1:1-3). It is from this spiritual wealth that the Lord Jesus carried out His ministry. That is why ‘he is able to save completely those who come to God through him’ (Hebrews 7:25).
To Each, a Measure of Grace
While the Lord Jesus ALONE received the Holy Spirit limitlessly (John 3:34), the one who believes in Him (you and I) receive a measure of the Spirit which flows from Him. It begins as ‘a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (John 4 :14), and progresses to ‘rivers of living water will flow from within them’ (John 7:38).
Therefore, spiritual ministry does not consist of that which you boast about, rather, it consists of what flows out of you and the people you are able to ‘water’ from that outflow. As you make spiritual progress and reach new depths in God, new rivers will flow out of you. This is not the result of merit or labour on anyone’s part; it is given as a gift of Grace (1 Corinthians 1:4-7). It is not a function of ambition either, rather, it results from the measure of fullness you have within you – the quantity of ‘water’ flowing out of you. In simple terms, it is a function of what has been given (Romans 12 :3-8).
God Gives Resources and the Holy Spirit to those who Ask
Also, God gives His Holy Spirit to those who ask!
For spiritual ministry, just like for the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the Holy Spirit in me that I need. At any time, we can turn to Christ to ask for and receive from him a measure of fullness to enable us to function in our leadership call/responsibility.
We acquire spiritual wealth through the spiritual gifts that God gives. This goes beyond the personal level as even a church can have abundant wealth because all the spiritual gifts are present there in abundance. That was the experience of the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 1:4-7).
Even from the Old Testament, it is clear that God gives to those who ask. Those who ask God for the resources needed to discharge their assigned tasks shall receive it. Solomon was young and inexperienced when he became king. He turned to the Lord, to ask for wisdom, knowledge, and discernment to govern aright, and the Lord gave these to him in abundance, along with an abundance of material wealth and possessions (2 Chronicles 1:7-12).
The abundance of God available in the Holy Spirit is for us; it is for me. All the graces and gifts are available for us; we shall receive them if we ask for them. The Lord Jesus Christ received them limitlessly, and He gives to each of us according to our need.
Our Need for a Collective Pentecost: A Collective Consecration
As a ministry, we shall continue to fast, pray, and praise God as we prepare for Pentecost. But, we must follow the pattern laid out in the Bible. In Acts 2:1-42, the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. But before then they had been together for 10 days (Acts 1:3-26). They took time to clarify their roles so that each one would know his own individual responsibility in the Great Commission while fully committed to the whole. Then on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon them to equip them to do the work they had clarified at the place of prayer.
During this Crusade, we shall pray as we fast, but the question remains: Why have we not received after asking several times previously? The fullness of the Holy Spirit is for a PURPOSE.
What is needed for a Collective Pentecost is a Collective Consecration to Our Goal (World Conquest) because the question is: What do you want the fullness for? What is the Kingdom of God getting from Christ filling you with a measure of grace and gifts? Is it about you – for your personal admiration, aspirations, ambitions, etc.?
The Holy Spirit is the Helper of those who have a Burden, a Vision, and who are helpless in the face of what they are called to do. Without a consecration to preach the Gospel, what do you want the fullness for? We have a Goal of 1 billion disciples, what for? The problem is neither with God, the Holy Spirit nor with our asking. The issue is: What are you asking for? Why? What is it that you have to do? God gives according to need; according to what you need for your own personal responsibility. PENTECOST IS FOR THOSE WHO ARE CONSECRATED TO THE CALL OF GOD AND TOTALLY COMMITTED TO OUR GOAL BUT DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO DO THE WORK AND SUCCEED!
By this matrix, the non-committed and the double-minded are eliminated; they should not expect to receive anything from God (James 1:6-8). For many, commitment is non-existent and for many who are committed, they are double-minded – if it does not work, they give (it) up. Many who are totally committed are bound by unbelief. If you can afford to drop/abandon it (the goal/responsibility/assigned task), then God will not give it or the resources needed for it, to you.
The Pathway to Spiritual Wealth; to Spiritual Abundance
Spiritual Leadership requires Spiritual Wealth, and Spiritual Wealth is Spiritual Gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Peter presents a simple leadership/ministry progression for the development/acquisition of spiritual wealth and abundance (1 Peter 4:7-11):
- Develop a Disciplined Prayer Life;
- Love the brethren deeply, and forgive those who hurt you;
- Offer hospitality without complaining; Spiritual gifts will follow if you serve God and His people with the material gifts He already gave you.
If you are faithful in all of the above, then you shall move on to;
- Discover your distinct spiritual gift, which is a portion of God’s grace distributed to each one of us.
Peter categorises them under two main umbrellas:
- The gifts of Speaking (prophecy, preaching, teaching, etc.) and
- the gifts of Service (administration, helps, etc).
Find your own from the list and distinguish yourself in it!
The Lord Jesus, Our Saviour; the Holy Spirit, Our Helper
Spiritual Leadership demands Spiritual Wealth, and the wealth comes with/as/by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Like the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to exercise our leadership from wealth; and this wealth is not about money. God has made spiritual wealth available through spiritual gifts. We can be spiritually wealthy and have all we need to discharge our responsibilities. We can have abundance; it comes from a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit.
As an unbeliever, you believed and received eternal life. Similarly, as a believer, we present to you an encounter with the Holy Spirit by which you will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit with which to serve God.
Jesus is our Saviour; you met Him and you got saved. The Holy Spirit is our Helper; have you met Him so that He can help you? There is a Helper – the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. He is to help you to serve God – to be a witness – and not just to help you to stop sinning.
We preach Christ as Saviour and men are saved. We have not preached the Holy Spirit as Helper so that the believers may serve. We were saved in order to serve.
Through the Helper, we receive gifts that cover our deficiencies, so that we can serve. We are to preach the Helper from the Father! If the believers are zealous and consecrated and want to serve God, they will receive grace through the gifts and help of the Holy Spirit to serve God.
That is what God is calling our community to!
Amen!
