House of Faith Ministries

disciples.

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Ephesians 4:11 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.”

 

A saint can choose to minister to the Lord in the many areas of service that are opened to us; we can choose to be witnesses for Him, we can choose to mentor new born again believers, we can choose to serve those who are in need within the church or outside of the church, we can choose to make our light show in whatever situation we choose.

 

But there is a difference between let’s say, teaching others about the Word of God, which all of us should do, and being called to fill the office of teacher of the Word of God.

 

The same goes for evangelizing, we can all go out and witness to others by telling them about their need to be saved, and all of us are called to do that, as it is written; Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, but we are not all called to fill the office of an evangelist.

 

The same applies for pastors, caring and tending for the sheep is something that we are all called to do, but not all are called to fill the office of pastor.

 

We are all in essence prophets every time that we quote the Word of God to others, for in reality we are prophesying to them by telling them that this is what God said, but not all are called to sit in the office of prophet. What is the difference?

 

Let’s say that a terrible accident happens and somebody gets injured in a public place, the call immediately goes out, Is there a doctor in the house? At that point it does not matter what the doctor’s specialty is, all is needed is someone who is familiar with the human anatomy and who knows how to treat it, in the absence of a medical doctor even a dentist will do, even if the injury is on the foot, for all that is needed at that point is someone who can stop the bleeding and who can help to keep the injured person from dying.

 

So that in the sense of ministry, we all should be general practitioners; when it comes to leading others to the Lord, we should all be prepared; when it comes to ministering to the needs of others, we should all be ready; when it comes to teaching them from God’s Word, all of us should know about the Scriptures that are able to save them.

 

How do we learn all of that, and how do we prepare ourselves?

 

Ephesians 4:12-13 “For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

 

The fivefold ministry and those who are called to sit in those offices, are charged with the solemn duty of preparing and training the saints of the church of God for the work of ministry.

 

Since God knows the future, and since He also knows that the needs of man change along with their circumstances, He foresaw the need of having ministers in His church that understand that the Holy Spirit always moves to optimize the resources of the church in the manner in which it is most effective.

 

So that His anointing flows through those offices to bring about the changes that are necessary, by revealing the counsel to the churches that will prepare them to overcome whatever situations they are facing, with a message that is specifically tailored for their area of ministry.

 

A minister that sits in the office of pastor for example, will receive through the anointing that is in the office that he fills, the guidance that is needed to better fulfill his calling, as long as he remains faithful to the anointing by not turning away to man made schemes, those who sit under his ministry will benefit from the anointing that flows from that pastor’s ministry for the betterment of their service.

 

In my many years of service to the Lord, I’ve witness great teachers and great pastors that flowed with the anointing, and marveled how the Lord’s wisdom was able to move in whatever situation those who were ministering were faced with, to the point of astonishment, as to how the Lord worked His way in whatever difficulty they were facing, and as I asked the Lord where their anointing emanated from, it was always revealed to me that the anointing flows out of the office they held.

 

We sometimes make the mistake that because a pastor, a teacher, an evangelist, or a prophet that flows with the anointing that their respective offices enable them with, that because they excel at their specialty, that because of that, that we can also trust their counsel when it comes to an office that they do not hold, and for which their anointing has not prepared them.

 

I’ve seen great teachers fail as pastors and great pastors fail at teaching, and I’ve seen some do fairly well as both, but I can always recognize where their true allegiance is by what they say, for you cannot take a true pastor out of leading the sheep, anymore than you can take a true teacher from him teaching the flock, or a true evangelist from having an altar call, and a true prophet from prophesying Thus says the Lord!

 

But if the fivefold ministry were a hand, the apostles would be the thumb, for the other four are heavily dependent upon it in order to function properly. If we truly want to understand what preaching, teaching, evangelizing, and prophesying is all about, then we need to understand what the true apostolic ministry is all about.

 

Ephesians 2:20 “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.”

 

The church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was not erected on a foundation of human philosophy, or out of a need for a human agency that exists for the betterment of society and the refinement of the masses that would somehow bring about a human utopia on this earth.

 

1 John 3:8 “...For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

 

Preaching, teaching, evangelizing, and prophesying that does not have the goal of destroying the works of the devil that flow out of the kingdom of darkness, misses the mark.

 

The church was not put on this earth to conform to this world system, but to confront it, and expose it for what it is, the works of the devil.

 

Jesus told us, I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Where did Jesus build His church? Right here on the earth! Where are the gates of hell? Right here on the earth!

 

Any ministry, whether it falls under the office of pastor, teacher, evangelist, or prophet, if it does not have the destruction of the works of the devil as its main goal, then it is not flowing under the Holy Spirit’s anointing, for that was the very reason for which the church was established, to stand up against the gates of hell and to bring about the destruction of all the works of the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit’s anointing.

 

Ephesians 3:10-11 “To the intent that now the manifold (fivefold ministry) wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

This was always God’s plan for the church and will always continue to be; to challenge, to expose, to eradicate, and to destroy the works of Satan upon this earth!

 

We are not here to mix and to mingle with other religions, Christianity is not a religion, Christianity is a kingdom, a kingdom that is not of this world, a kingdom that Jesus Christ, the King of kings is coming soon to establish, this should be the testimony of all Christian ministries.

 

1 Timothy 6:12-15 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontious Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords.”

 

In Matthew 27:11 Pilate asked Jesus, Are You the King of the Jews? Jesus said to him, It is as you say.

 

Jesus did not, in anyway shape or form, dilute His testimony about who He was and what He came to do, even in the face of death, and while being confronted by His accusers.

 

His testimony is the apostolic anointing upon which our faith rests, and from where all other ministerial offices draw of the true anointing.

 

Is this the testimony that the ministry that your are under proclaims?

 

If you are in ministry, is this the testimony of your ministry?

 

If it is not, is it because of lack of knowledge or fear of persecution?

 

Receive right now Paul’s prayer for you and for your ministry.

 

Ephesians 3:17-19 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height (fourfold)—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”