“I have said these things to you so that, united with me, you may have shalom (peace). In the world, you have tsuris (trouble). But be brave! I have conquered the world!” - Jesus (John 16:3 CJB)
When Jesus walked the earth, he exhibited the authority of his Father. This was not just over the devil, but also over the natural world.
Everything he did was an example to us of what the Sons (children) of God should be. Our Lord (i.e., Master) Jesus’ intention was never just to save us from hell, he came to give us the ability and confidence to live as he did. The Apostles and disciples he left behind also showed us that the life of a follower of Jesus should be marked by love, confidence and ability to be 'above' irrespective of what is thrown at us. God the Father sent Jesus to die to birth and grow a church that overcomes.
''Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.'' 1 John 5:5 NIV
Jesus plainly told us what we can do and also told us what is available to us:
‘’Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’’ John 14:12 -14
Please hear me, to be all Jesus died for us to be we MUST be aware of who and what he made us. You are ''a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people,'' for this reason: ''that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light'' (1 Peter 2:9 AMPC)
Jesus is preparing to welcome to himself, a glorious Church (Ephesians 5:26-27). A glorious Church is a mature Church, but growth only comes from knowledge.
''Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation'' (1 Peter 2:2).
To go from babies in the Faith to adults who can display the deeds and perfections of YHWH, we need more than the foundational (basic) teachings of salvation, we need meat, not milk. Paul said to the Corinthian christians, 'Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready''
Are we ready to move from elementary doctrines to higher spiritual Truths of who we are in Christ?
Pastors care for God's people and many teach, but to bring the Church (as a whole) into maturity for a particular period or to grow his Church as a body in a particular area, he sends apostles.
We all have different gifts and callings but the office of apostle is not just to a local church but to the body of Jesus followers as a whole. Like Paul was given, Jesus still gives his apostles ‘’surpassingly great revelations‘’ in particular areas to ‘’equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’’ (Ephesians 4:11-12). The ‘’mark of an apostle’’ is not in their poverty, but in the results, message, and signs and wonders proving it. For example, the Corinthian Church was the mark of Paul's Apostleship - irrespective of all their issues (1 Corinthians 9:2). Plus, the insights of the Apostle Paul has done incredibly more than any other, to enlighten, strengthen and mature the body of Jesus followers in every generation since.
Apostle Peter testified in 2 Peter 3:14-15:
‘’Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Paul's contribution became and still is indispensable for bringing the Church to maturity. He was called not just to get the Gentles to become heirs of God through Jesus Christ, but also to get the Whole Church aware of the ‘new man’ in Christ. Today we also have those called into this apostolic office and they operate under this wisdom and grace. They are called to bring the Body of believers into adulthood. The ministry of Pastor Chris and Andrew Wommack are those I have personally benefited from in this area. I strongly advise that we take advantage of the insight they have been given by our Lord Jesus for his Church. A glorious Church is a strong church, and that strength is built by knowledge.
Faith-building messages on www.pastorchrisdigitallibrary.org, and www.awmi.net have been an immense strength many atimes. Visit these sites or just grab a free copy of the devotional book, ‘Rhapsody of Realities’ ( https://rhapsodyofrealities.org ) and see what it contains. Plus there is a world-wide distribution outreach going on at this period, this might just empower you and your ministry!
The body of Christ has different members, and we don’t all see the same things in the scriptures, but we can only be fully built up as we acknowledge what other parts of His body bring.
Discern spirits, compare what you hear with the scriptures, but do not let fear or arrogance stop us from taking advantage of the truths of Christ given to His body through apostolic ministries. Their messages might be unfamiliar but give yourself an opportunity to be a built.
To be one as the Church, we must be cautiously open-minded. More importantly, we must walk in the spirit of Love(Agape), realising that our own weakness might be the strength of the other, and our strength their own weakness. With this in mind, we won't judge or dismiss what they bring so quickly and so the whole Church can grow by that which every part supplies just as Jesus designed it to do.
One Church does mean different parts (with different, unfamiliar gifts and insights) coming together as one. Learn to take the good and shelf (or discard) insights you are not convinced of, but know for certain, that in order to become that glorious church, we need the other.
''For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.'' Romans 12:3-5
'So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip his people for works of service,
so that the body of Christ may be built up
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God
and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.'' Ephesians 4:11 - 16
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