Pastor Theodore, started his message of the 13th night of the Fasting Praise and Prayer Crusade with a critical question: Why do people hang around people whose life they don’t enter. Why do few people touch what the man is truly inside?
Providing background, brother Theodore explained that, for those who had been with the Master, it is not only about what they go and do, but it is what they had: They have authority.
For example, Aaron, Joshua, Caleb were all in the life of Moses and they became priest, leader, and prime overcomer respectively. David for instance, took complainers, weaklings, debtors, people beaten by life; they entered his life; they entered his problems and became mighty men.
With the Lord Jesus, common men, fishermen became the foundation of the eternal city.
The people who have been in your life, three years, five years, what do they become? Did they enter your life and you shut them out, or they entered your life and they were shut out by their hearts? Look at all that God has put in your life, to whom has it been transferred? Brother Theodore asked.
Quoting The Making of Disciples, by ZTF the leader said, after a man has built you, you ought to have what that man has given you, and then you ought to have more what your own relationship with God has added. Hence the following critical questions:
- Do you know the two in your life?
- What did you receive from man so that you can truly say I am a son of this man?
- What have you received from God, from your relationship with Him, so that you can truly say I am a son of God?
Brother Theodore emphasized this with the story of Elijah and Elisha. Indeed, Elisha had followed as a servant, putting aside the choice to become a prophet. Yet when it came to receive the double portion he had asked, Elisha had to follow with the heart, not allowing anything else to distract him.
Brother Theodore pursued with an explanation of sonship following the model of Jesus. Being a son is becoming your own enemy, being the enemy of your capacities. Unlike Lucifer, who fell in love with what he was, what he had, what he could do, the Lord Jesus decided to empty Himself of all His glory as Son so as to be filled with the Glory of the Father. That is the Way of Divine Capacitation.
Brother Theodore then led the saints to pray that the superficiality will stop and that there will be true heart identification, following from the heart for impartation.
Brother Theodore then carried forward with the intentional making of disciples by the Lord Jesus. He said Jesus trained about 9 categories of people for His vision:
- Peter, as the leader
- The 3, as the witnesses of His minister
- The 12, as the witnesses of His resurrection and the apostles
- The women, for resources for His work
- The 72, as the helpers
- The 120 around Peter, as the visible beginning of the Church
- The 500 prior to His ascension so that they understand His vision of the Kingdom
- The crowd of disciples who had followed Him, trained on the life of the Kingdom of God.
Peter was built as the leader through his faith and the revelation of who Jesus was before God. Leadership is not position. Leadership is revelation and leadership is faith, brother Theodore said.
Jesus built the three through fellowship; by sharing His glory, His power, His suffering with them. By so doing, He produced the witnesses of His life:
- John the witness of His glory,
- Peter, the miracle worker, the witness of His power
- James, the martyr the witness of His suffering.
On this, the leader commented that Fellowship is responsibility. When a man carries you into fellowship it is responsibility he is entrusting you.
Beside, to each of the three, Jesus offered the gift drinking the same cup He drank.
- Jesus trained the 12 by introducing them in the fellowship with Him, taking them in His itinerary ministry, and then bequeathing them His mission
- Each of the women the Lord built, responded to the gift of the Gospel by giving their all.
- Jesus built the 72 by making room for them in His work so that they can help. And they were available to be sent. Brother Theodore added that it takes planning to make room and manifest love to people by giving them something to do in your work.
The teaching ended on a note of prayer that all the leaders in our ministry build our ministry, our nation the way Jesus did.
DAILY PROCEEDINGS:
RECOMMENDED READING
- Disciples of the Jesus-Christ to make disciples for Jesus-Christ
- Personal Spiritual Revival
- The Ministry of Fasting
- Life-Changing Thoughts on Fasting (Vol 1)
- Practical Helps in Fasting Long Fasts
- Building a Spiritual Nation