Also On Audio Tape # 4 and 5
Apostolic Notes
The Apostle Moves in the Accuracy of Ministry
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy
them that are my flesh, and may save some of them.
q Greek Scriptures: Inasmuch
then as I am an apostle to the nations, I do my ministry honor, or I lay much
stress in magnifying my office, or I continuously glorify my ministry.
q If I may provoke to jealousy
q
Herein
lies one of the commissioning of the apostolic calling.
q
q
2 Cor 4:1 ¶ Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not
Because by the
mercy of God, we were called into this ministry, we do not become discouraged.
(We know that if God divinely summoned us, He will take care of us, and see us
through; therefore we do not lose heart.)
2
But have renounced (we gave up once, and now forbid) the hidden things of dishonesty
(anything that brings shame or disgrace to the gospel, or to us),
not walking in craftiness(not
conducting ourselves in the doctrines of men), nor handling the word of God deceitfully(by
trickery, adulterating or corrupting God’s word for base gain) ; but by manifestation of the truth (but by
manifesting the gospel in its accuracy and genuineness through the Word of God
and by our lives) commending
ourselves to every man’s conscience( we present ourselves to
every type of men’s conscience)
in the sight of God.
(Before the constant gaze of God) (We must remember that the conscience of
man is a component of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Paul here says, that the
soundness of the apostle’s doctrine and the genuinenesss of his or her life in
accordance to the gospel must be so great, that it must hold up to the scrutiny
of the voice of God bearing witness or passing judgment to what the apostle
ministers in their hearer’s consciences.
Secondly, the apostle must also deal with the scrutiny of God Himself,
whose penetrating look is ever upon the apostle.
q
Personal notes: A doctrine of man is taking
a personal rhema word of God, given into a specific situation, and making it into a
doctrine which is taught over and over to the body of Christ.
q
I
see this danger blossoming today especially in some American charismatic
circles. Because much of the body of
Christ is presently living in a crisis situation due to complacency and
halfhearted obedience, there are numerous teachers who teach Christians that
giving financial offerings to ministries will cause God to rescue them from
every conceivable problem in their lives. The problem that I see today is
described in 2 Timothy four and three. Many of these teachers can generate
thousands of dollars in minutes of time through the tickling of the hearers’
ears who are desperate and want a quick fix from God.
q
2
Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap( accumulate in piles) to themselves
teachers, having itching
ears( teaching
them things which are pleasant to their ears and that allow for compromise,
complacency, halfhearted obedience and little sacrifice)
q
Another doctrine of man is taking and
corrupting the Logos Word of God and making it into a denominational tenet,
principle, or dogma. The denominational tenet then becomes the idol, in that
any rhema word coming forth as the will and the voice of the Holy Spirit in
opposition to the denominational dogma is categorically denied.
q
The
doctrines of men are also the spiritual and psychological teachings of man,
which deny the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, the current mass quantity of doctrines and books about
angels.
Eph
3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least
of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ;
9
And
to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world
hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
1
Cor 9:1 ¶ Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our
Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
2
If
I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the
Lord.
q
The
scriptures above in Ephesians three, eight and nine, and First Corinthians
nine, one and two, tell us much about the apostolic ministry. I would like to teach the verses in
Ephesians chapter three in the following manner.
q
I have been
approached by people whom have presented our family with an offer to become
part of a company that sells a host of different services to the community, all
from on location. In other words I
could become a person who could sell life insurance, mortgages, stocks, mutual
funds, and bonds with proper training and licensing. The folks who visited us gave Mary and I an elaborate
presentation of what their company offers, as well as the levels of
participation in which we could get involved with them. We could simply purchase one or several of
their services, or participate as a company partner in progressive levels of
involvement, by selling the different products that would be offered to
others. This is precisely what the fellowship
of the mystery means. A mystery
is what is unknown to us. In this case
we knew nothing about the company. When
these friends taught us the company presentation, the mystery was revealed and
we understood what the company was all about.
The fellowship of the mystery is our understanding of what
our participation and levels of involvement could now be with the company.
q
The apostle
primarily reveals the mystery of the Son of God through the written or logos
word of God. The prophet reveals the Son of God primarily through the rhema
word. Both of them functioning together provide the fullness of the revelation
of the Son of God, who becomes the foundation on which any local assembly must
build.
q
The apostle
has the grave responsibility of knowing the scriptures soundly, as well as
maintaining a walk of intimacy with the Lord.
He or she can present and reveal the mystery of the Son of God to the
church as it is found in the written word, as well manifesting Him through His
ongoing works by the rhema word.
q
The
revelation of the mystery of the gospel, as well as that of the Son of God by
the apostle, must have enough richness so that believers within a local
assembly can understand what is their participation and levels of involvement
into the unsearchable riches of the Son of God, which are Jesus callings,
giftings, and ministries to them; Hence the fellowship of the mystery.
q
Furthermore,
I believe that the seal of apostleship is defined in these two
ways. The believer as mentored by the
apostle, is first brought to a place of adequate spiritual freedom as he or she
grasps the liberty brought to him or her by the revelation of the mystery of
the gospel, as the apostle teaches it.
q
As the
disciple begins to grasp whom he or she is IN CHRIST, the apostle introduces
the fellowship of the mystery; assisting the disciple to discover his or her
office, callings, and spiritual gifts so that the disciples in turn can do the
work of the ministry.
Ephesians
6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me,
that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
1
Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God(The will of God as found in the gospel and
in His Son) in a mystery,
even the hidden wisdom,
(even the hidden will of God) which God ordained before the world
unto our glory:
Colossians
1:27 To whom God would make known what
is the riches of the glory
of this mystery
among the Gentiles; which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory: {in: or, among}
28 Whom we preach, (The apostle preaches the revealed Person of Christ, and not a
thing) warning
every man (exhorting, admonishing and warning), and teaching
every man in all wisdom
( teaching every person the will of God found in the sound doctrine of
scriptures); that we may present every man perfect (to the level of Christ’s maturity
and character) in Christ Jesus:
2 Corinthians 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.
q Indeed the signs of an apostle
were worked out in the realm of all endurance; both by signs and wonders, and
works of God’s dunamis (miracles)
o
Signs: The
miracle from the point of view that gives proof to the reality of God, and to
the authenticity of the apostle as a sent ambassador of God commissioned with
His credentials.
o
Wonders: The same miracle from the point of view of its startling, astonishing,
amazing qualities, which the world beholds, and causes it to believe in God.
o
Most
of us desire to be used in powerful ministries of signs and wonders were the
sick get instantaneously healed, and demons are cast out with one single
word. Such is the case sometimes, and
such should also be our level of faith.
o
It
is my experience however that many a time, miracles, and signs and wonders,
take place in the realm of lack, where all dependencies and resources are
whittled away and nothing remains but God Himself. Then we see the Lord manifest Himself in the sphere of signs and
wonders. The apostle has nothing else to fall back upon; except the Lord
Himself. Such miracles are brought
forth in the realm of patience, uncompromising obedience, and hardship. Signs and wonders are the manifestation of
God to the person whose circumstances are dead, and in where resources want or
lack, and where the sole trust is in God’s rhema word. Through obedience, patience, waiting upon
the Lord, and the adopting the ways of God, the signs of an apostle were
wrought among you in all patience.
o
1
Corinthians 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the
apostles last, as it
were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world,
and to angels, and to men.
q Hath
set forth To
expose to view; or to exhibit
q Last in receiving honor, last in being recognized
by men and by the body of Christ, last in being raised up by Christ, and
smallest in importance and in the estimation of men.
q Appointed to death: Greek:
Upon the death “Doomed to die”
q A spectacle unto the world. Greek: A theatre
unto the world
q The apostolic
calling to those who are destined to be God ambassadors. As His representatives, apostles are called
to be a portrait or a painting of God’s ways, will, and timing upon the earth. The Lord allows the apostle to go through
the humiliating and frustrating circumstances of being last so all that does
not represent the voice of the Lord, His ways, and His timing, are taken out of
the way.
q The apostolic
calling bears with it the spirit of 1Corinthians four and nine. The apostle is
“doomed to die”; though in most cases it is not a physical death. One of the greatest and most painful deaths
is the death to reputation, as the apostle becomes the Lord’s ambassador. Reputation is sure to be lost, because the
ways of God found in His rhema words, are an abomination in the sight of
unsaved man.
Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
q In our apostolic
commission, family members, as well as Christian friends, are still unable to
understand as to why I have stayed in a job for three and one half years that
does not meet our finances; and yet God has wonderfully met them. God told me,
“ I will take care of your family, I want to teach you my ways and faith.” The
Lord’s purposes are higher than ours.
q A walk of
genuine faith, which is produced by the rhema word of God, which in turn is the
faith of God, is the only spiritual atmosphere in which we will learn to
operate in the miracle working power of God.
As I have stated before, one of the reasons why the American church is
so weak, and there is such an absence of the manifest miracle working power of
God, is that we do not walk by faith.
2 Cor 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
q Sentence: The answer of death
q
1 Corinthians 4:13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
filth
and offscouring: The food
scrapings on a dirty plate, and the sweepings gathered from a dirty floor,
which are rinsed off or thrown away.
q The Lord
engineers all of this in the apostle’s life, as He whittles him or her into a
walk by the simple rhema word, and continuously humbles them so that they only
walk in His ways. Ambassadorship
requires living by God’s rhema word and conforming to His ways. Only then can their be true a representation
of the Lord here on earth.
q 1 Corinthians
four, ten through thirteen describes more of this refining process through
which the apostle suffers the loss of all things and finally finds the
resurrected Christ within, to the reveal Him and display His ways.
1 Cor 4:10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
q
Greek: We are morons on
the account of Christ
q
We are frail and weak, you are confident and strong
q
We are those who get no respect from people
1 Cor 4:11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
q We are hungry and thirsty
q We are dressed scantily or with poor quality of clothing
q We are treated poorly
q We have no home of our own
12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
q
We labor for the gospel’s sake to the point of exhaustion
q
When we are abused by men, we bless back
q
When we are persecuted, we patiently endure it.
2 Corinthians 5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
If we are
out of our minds; out of our wits or insane
q The man of God who walked around the world
with a cross, Arthur Blessitt, once said, “you know that God is setting you
free, when you do not care what people think of you.”
q Giving away all
that we possessed set us free from the world, once and for all, and in one
instance of time. The death to reputation and the love of world allows the
apostle to move freely in this world in strict accordance to the voice of God
and not as to what men think of them.
Dying to the ways of the world furthermore, allows the apostle to adopt,
learn and exhibit the ways of the Lord to the world, which has been crucified
to him or her.
1 Cor 9:12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.
q
Greek: We did not
make use of the different rights afforded to us by the gospel as apostles of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of these
rights include having a Christian wife and getting our income from the gospel. (Please study the preceding verses above
this one.) We do not make use of our rights, but instead put up with all
things so as not to impede the pioneering progress of the gospel.
2 Cor 12:14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
q
I am
not seeking your possessions, I am seeking you (the person)
2
Corinthians 12:15 And I will very
gladly spend and
be spent for you;
though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
q spend Incur personal expense
q spent To exhaust by spending; To spend oneself
totally up for the individual and for the sake of the gospel
Mat 10:5
¶ These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the
way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
9 Provide (To acquire, procure, or possess) neither gold, nor
silver, nor brass(coins
or brass, or money) in your purses,
10 Nor scrip(a traveling bag for provisions) for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
I am of the belief that there must be a restoration of Matthew chapter ten as the Lord raises up the apostolic ministry. In America, we certainly do not see the Matthew 10 walk within virtually the whole body of Christ. The spirit of verses nine and ten in today’s society is not a wholesale ban on health, auto, or life insurance. Neither is it a prohibition on savings accounts or even some type of stocks or mutual funds. God has a place for all of these things.
In our family, for a number of years now, the Lord has not permitted us to have a saving account. My children have health coverage, but Mary and I do not have the present finances to acquire that benefit for us. As I said in the beginning of my teaching, the Lord has compelled me for three and a half years against my natural will, to remain in a job that does not cover our financial needs. We have not been able to provide gold, silver and brass for our purses and have no additional provision for ourselves. The home that we live in is legally not ours. It is to go on to our children. The Lord has become our provision and supply.
A deeper study of Matthew chapter ten verse eight, shows us that this verse is the product of verses nine and ten. The apostle has the manifested power to heal the sick, raise the dead etc. because he or she live out of the conditions found in verses nine and ten.
As
I have taught before, a continual dependency upon the Lord and the “loss of all
things” is the source of all apostleship or ambassadorship. The loss of all things purifies the believer
from all until he or she begins to live solely out of God’s presence. Utter dependency
on the Lord becomes utter dependency on the rhema word of God. Utter dependency on the rhema word of God
bounds the apostle to learn and limit his or her life strictly to the ways of
God. Both of these things bring the
apsotle into oneness with the Lord and equip him or her for ambassadorship with
the full credentials of the Lord power.
American believers live just the opposite to this. We lean on money, a host of personal
insurances, guarantees, warrantees and comforts. Our dependency on them is our independence from the voice of God
and the manifested presence of God.
Hence our powerlessness!
The restoration
of the apostolic walk must come forth in this country, at least amongst
prophets and apostles. Called apostles, cannot operate as apostles if they do
not have an experiential understanding of Matthew chapter ten. I personally would like to have a lot more
money than what I currently have. Our
intentions, for one, are to give freely into Native American ministries who
desperately need it. However, if the
need is to continue to operate in the walk depicted in Matthew chapter ten,
though considerably more difficult and not always enjoyable, we must continue
to do so. This walk is one which full
of the miracle working power of God and which amply displays the ways of God.
Other Reminders to Apostles.
q
The apostle
is of no concern in all reality. His or her ministry is not one of exaltation
but one of being continually humbled either by seasons of material lack, or by
the stringent limits placed upon their lives by the boundaries of the rhema
word of God. Our experiences have borne
this fruit into our lives. Lack of material resources for over four years have
taught us to live by the resource of the rhema word. Our financial lack for
these years has been a real struggle. I
am learning not to doubt God for resources.
The struggle is not with the material provision, but has been with the
Lord Himself. Many times, it has been
for me very difficult for to deal with the seemingly illogical and irrational
decision by the Lord, to keep me in such financial circumstances when I have
known that I could with relative ease do financially better for my family. Yet through God’s painful dealings, I have
found His wisdom. If we are to learn
and operate in the sphere of God’s way, our ways and our will must be laid
down. Apostleship, and ministry in the fullness of God’s power, is solely
energized in God’s ways.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
q
Part
of the difficulty with the apostolic calling, especially in America, is that it
flows in a total opposition to the grain of American values as well as to the
general spirit of American Christianity.
q
Moses,
who was the adopted son of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and who could had partaken in
all of the riches of Egypt, was summoned by the Lord to eat manna three times a
day for forty years in the Sinai Desert.
Moses learned to live within confining limitations of the rhema word of
God as found in the more than six hundred commandments that God gave to him. The apostle must live in this same way if he
or she, as Moses was, are ones that will teach the church to be build all
things according to the “pattern
shown in the mount.”
q
The
greatness of the apostle and the prophet is found in how faithfully he or she
restrict their lives to the accuracy of rhema word of God. The American church
at large, lives on a foundation of psychology self help programs, financial
doctrines of men, “seeker sensitive” programs that lure the lost to a milk
toast gospel, denominational dogmas that resist the voice of God, and programs
committees, and church growth programs, that promote Christianity with the mind
and not with the spirit.
q
The
apostle suddenly comes into the midst of the church speaking forth a message of
less religious activity and more waiting on God, less church dogma and more
dependency on the rhema word of God, less financial prosperity and more laying
down our lives for God, and less attention to fear and doubt, and more casting
to the wind, and walking on the water, in uncompromising obedience to God. He
or she find themselves in opposition to the church at large who for the most
part sees them as either irrational, irresponsible, or lazy.
q
The
apostle also becomes an instrument of direct spiritual warfare against the American
strongholds of money, complacency, comfort, and “please give me three dollars
worth of God today” (as the song says), by his
or her “fanatical” conduct before the Lord
The apostle becomes a thorn on the side of some who simply cannot stand
them, because the apostle’s very life testifies against the gods that they
worship.
Matthew
10:24 The disciple is not above his
master, nor the servant above his lord.
Matthew
10:25 It is enough (sufficient) for the disciple that he
be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master
of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? {Beelzebub: Gr. Beelzebul}
q
Because
the apostle constantly lives to reveal the mystery of the Son of God and our
fellowship with it, his or her life is one which progressively assumes the same
form of the death of the Lord Jesus. In
his or her dying however the apostle progressively assumes the same form of the
glorious liberty found in the resurrection life of the Lord. This is the great advantage of the apostles
of the Lord. They enjoy the constant
flow of the Lord’s power. Resurrection
life is the apostle’s bread.
John
7:38 He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
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