THE MAKING OF OUR MINISTRY 8

Transcription

1 13TH OCTOBRE 2017 THE MAKING OF OUR MINISTRY 8 THEODORE ANDOSEH CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL LEADER S OFFICE

2 Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people cast up all discipline and restraint. Vision brings discipline, vision brings control. A community without vision will be disorderly, people will be falling over each other. A people with vision will know restraints, there will be disciplined. Ten people to thank the Lord that we are a community to whom God has given restraints. To have vision means that you are not free to do anything you like. Where there is vision, people are not reckless. Where there is a vision, there is restraints, we are not free to do anything we like, go where we like, practice anything we like. Where there is a vision, we know what God expects, it brings discipline, it gives directions for individuals, we are not free, there is no anarchy, we all have a point of reference. In the old testaments, there are three colossal figures, that summarise a much of God's service: 1. Abraham: the apostle of the covenant 2. Moses: the apostle of the Law 3. David: the apostle of the kingdom Those are the three-main beginning. And subsequently, any other person who serves God, finds his place without the work of God within these starting points. All the prophets, the kings, all the priests, all the soldiers, all the leaders, all the judges, their vocations are in one of these three. Gen 13: The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." God told Abraham to see, to look and to see, to see the land. God gave Abraham a vision of the land, and along with that vision, he promised him descendants that will fill this land, earthly descendants, like the dust. And he told Abraham to pray and claim it, to pray with his legs. It was God who told Abraham: look at the whole vision, and then take it, one step at the time. Vision is what the heart sees, but prayers are what the steps takes. Every payer topics follows this principle. What you have seen, take, step by step. What you

3 have seen, take it step by step. The philosophy of writing prayer topics is that there is vision which is the results and there is the faith that will take it step by step. That is why we write prayer topics, it is a journey of faith. God told Abraham to do the same, you don't put your vision into one topic: Oh Lord, give me the whole land. You see the whole vision, but in the taking of the vision, it has to be step by step. If you did not know why we rite prayer topics, then know that it is how God has taught us that faith works. Abraham: look, that is vision Abraham: move, that is prayer. Abraham: move = prayer, step by step. Five people to thank the Lord who has taught us over the years. Abraham was to work according to the vision he has been shown. It was legwork. He had to do a lot of leg-work. He had to do eye-work. Because there was the promise of God behind it. Earthly descendance. After God gave Abraham this cardinal vision, look North, look south, look west, look east, that is cardinal vision, in all the cardinal directions, and form this cardinal vision, there was a human earthly promise. Later on, God completed the vision. Gen 15:5-6 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. It is God who is the initiative of the vision. When God told Abraham to look at the land, it was God who told him where to look. It was God who told him: look north, look south, look east, look west, all that you see, I will give you. And here again, it is God who told Abraham to look up, he completed Abraham's vision. Look all around look up. The looking up was not only a gesture, because when he looked up, he saw the stars, and god told him, I will give you another king of descendants, spiritual descendants. When he looked right, left down, God gave him earthly descendance, Jews and a lot of those in the middle east, Syrians, descendants of Esau, descendance of Keturah. Abraham is the genetic founder of many nations: Israel, and some of the surrounding nations. Look up, I will give you another kind of descendance, spiritual descendants, stars, and those ones Abraham was to capture those ones by faith and by righteousness. A righteousness imputed by God, that was the pathway for having this spiritual descendance. The earthly descendants were by legs by taking hold of the land,

4 so the whole life of Abraham, the spiritual work, was according to the vision that God has shown to him. Abraham's work was by vision, by revelation. Ten people to come and thank the Lord for the vision that God gave Abraham, that cover both the human and the spiritual, both the temporal and the eternal. Ex 3:1-6 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight why the bush does not burn up." 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Moses has a first vision, we call it the vision of the burning bush, but it was actually his vision of God. It was his first encounter with God, but from that vision came his call. From that vision he understood that the people of Israel, the earthly people of Israel, they can be suffering in the furnace of fire but they will not be destroyed, because of God. God showed him a vision as an introduction to understand his call and he gave him a vision based on that vison. God only spoke to him when he saw that Moses took that vision seriously. So, the work of Moses as a saviour was summarised in that burning bush. In the vision of the burning bush. God gave Moses a second vision and od gave Moses a third vision. The second vison was after the exodus. There was the vison of the burning bush before the work of deliverance because it elaborated the call of God on Moses up to a certain point. It was the work of Moses from Egypt to the desert. When they got to the desert, for Moses to understand his work, which is no longer as a savour, but to build the people of God into a people amongst who God can dwell, the people of God and God's people, to build them, God took Moses to a mountaintop and Moses stayed forty days, and God gave

5 Moses a tabernacle, it was a simple structure, just like the burning bush, but in that tabernacle, Moses undertook all that it will take to transform Israel in a people of God. It took God forty days to explain to Moses that simple vision. Moses was to work as a leader with the heavenly vision, with what has been show to him on the mountain top. His work of leadership was based on the vision. Ex 25:9 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. Ex 25:40 40 See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. Ex 27:8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain. It was a simple vision, of a tent, but behind that vision was a meaning, a meaning that took God forty days to teach Moses. And later on, when Moses was looking for co-workers, God required that Moses should gather his coworkers, should go and stand round the tabernacle to see what God had shown Moses, it has to be "our vison". What Moss has seen, they had to see the same thing, so that is should be their vision and God told Moses, only if they come and stand with him and see what he had seen and God put the spirit of Moses on them, only then could they carry the vision Jethro tried to give Moses co-workers. He told him, select capable men, delegate responsibilities, retain ultimate authority, institute a system of accountabilities, Moses obeyed Jethro and but he did not have co-workers. Then God decided to give Moses co-workers, and God told Moses: select capable people, that is the same like Jethro, able men, capable, acknowledged natural leaders, I am sure Moses selected he same leaders when Jethro told him, but this time, God told him they must have the same vision like you, the same spirit, only then can they carry the same vision you can be capable, very competent and be nobody co-worker's even if the person selected you. Moses understood his work of leadership by that vision on the mountain, and he did his work as a leader according to the revelation. He had a third vision, God told him: climb on the mount Abarim, on Pisga, and look at the land that I swore to give Abraham, Moses and Jacob as an

6 inheritance to their descendance. See it but you will not enter. That vison was given to Moses so that he can define Joshua s work, so that Joshua will be completing Moses's work. It was through this spiritual vision of the land that Moses knew how the land was to be partitioned and the taught Joshua how to do it. Joshua did not have a vision. A vison at the beginning, a vision later on and a vision at the end, for his work. Vision grows and we serve God according to vision. Ten people to thank God for Moses's vision, at every stage: at the beginning, half-way through and at the end. Around each of these vision, he understood his work. 2 Sam 23:1-4 These are the last words of David: "The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel's singer of songs: 2 "The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: 'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, 4 he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.' Un oracle est une révélation, c'est différent d'une parole. Les dernières paroles de David, la révélation que Dieu a donné à David, l'homme hautement exalté par le Très Haut, le grand chantre d'israël, il s'agit d'une révélation, Il documente à la fin de son règne la révélation qui a régit tout son royaume et à base de laquelle il a dirigé son royaume. David received a revelation about government, about administration, he received a revelation, he claimed that the Holy Spirit spoke to him about how to be a leader and be a blessing, how to be a leader that is a blessing, ow to be

7 a leader that renders ministry, how to transform leadership not as a yoke upon the people, but how to transforms leadership into a blessing, as a ministry, as something sweet. David revealed that he was not born with a natural wisdom on being king, but that God revealed to him leadership that blesses, and David has laboured to be king according to that revelation. It was a revelation that made David the kind of leader he was, it was not natural, it was not because he was good. So, God gave David a revelation of leadership that blesses, of leadership that brings ministry. 1 Chron 28:12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things 1 Chron 28:19 19 "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan." The oracle of David, he was sharing that his leadership has been by revelation, and here, a vision of the temple to leave with Solomon, so that Solomon can have a vison by which to work. That which is done for God, it must be by revelation. Five people to thank the Lord for the vision of David Alleluia All the other revelations, the different contributions, the kings that came after David, they were expected to work according to that same pathway. The whole nation of Israel was supposed to related to God according to what Moss had seen. Even after Moses died, the prophets only came to interpret the social implications of statutes of Moses, they were explaining to Israel the meaning of the law as it applies to individuals and to society. Those are the three giant servants of God in the old testament In the New testament, there is the model of the Lord Jesus. And the Lord Jesus tells us that He did all his work according to a revelation. John 5:19-20

8 19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. That is the vision of Jesus, to reproduce all that the Father does, and he will add nothing, and the Father will show him more wonderful things, that He may do them. John 12: For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." That is his work. The Son will say nothing by Himself. The Lord Jesus testifies, : all that I have said, the Father told me what to say and how to say it. Five people to thank the Lord for the vision of Jesus And He is our model. There are three colossal servants of God that summarised Christian service to God in the New testament: Peter, John, Paul, and each one of them shows clearly that their work and ministry was by revelation. 2 Peter 1: We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. Peter says that his ministry is not stories, it is not intelligence, that his ministry both the words and the power, came from a revelation. What was the revelation: The glory of the Lord Jesus. Just like for the Lord Jesus, his vision was the Father and the Father's work, and the Father's words,

9 and the Father's command, in the same ways, for the apostles, their vision was Jesus, the glory of Jesus, the will of Jesus, the command of Jesus. So, Peter says, it was on the basis of the revelations. The Lord gave him some special revelations for his particular work. Watchman Nee bring it out clearly in the book: what shall this man do? There were special experiences that the Lord took Peter and John and James into that he did not carry the others. He made them follow him in certain special situations. The apostle Joh say the same thing. 1 John 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. John says: what they gave to other people was the fruit of their revelation, what they know what they have touched, what they have seen. Their ministry was rooted on knowledge, deep knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Rev 1:1-2 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, That is the introduction. Revelation of Jesus about things to come, that was entrusted to John. Even when John had to prophecy, it was based on the revelation of the Lord Jesus. In chapter 2, John explained dhow he encountered Jesus as the elder. The vision he had of Jesus, as the ancient of Days. He saw the Lord as the Elder. He saw the Lod as the Ancient of Days. After seeing the Lord, after looking at the Lord, he now turns to look at the churches. Pour rendre ministère dans l'église, c'est selon une révélation. Toute sa lecture d'une église locale est à base d'une révélation de la personne de Jésus, son ministère était selon une vision. His ministry was according to revelations. A vision of the Lord Jesus. For Peter, it was a vision of the Lord Jesus For John it was a vison of the Lord Jesus, even for Paul, it was a vision of the Lord Jesus In order to build churches or in order to plan churches, there must be a model there must be a vison. If it is God's church, it must be according to a revelation.

10 Acts 22: "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. The ministry of Paul was to be based on what he had seen on vision. Later on, he tells Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven: Acts 26:19 19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. All of these apostle, they served the Lord, according to a revelation. As the Lord worked according to the Father's patterns, so the apostle had to work according to a vison of the Lord. And the apostolic helpers had to work according to the vision of the apostle. 1 Cor 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. That is the chain of visions. I imitate Christ, you, imitate me. And Christ imitated the Father, so that there is only one vision. He tells Timothy, you have a vision. 2 Tim 3:10 10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance You know what to follow. 1 Cor 4:16-17 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

11 Tu ne peux pas offrir aux gens la vie d'un homme si tu ne sais pas d'où sa vie vient. C est pour cela que beaucoup de gens n'ont pas de ministère, ils n'ont personne à offrir aux autres. On peut beaucoup dire que on aime les gens mais tu ne sais pas leurs vies, dont tu ne peux pas offrir cela aux autres. Admirer quelqu'un sans savoir d'où vient ce qu'il a, tu ne peux pas l'offrir aux autres parce que tu n'as personne que tu peux offrir, quelque chose comme venant de Dieu, comme une révélation venant de Dieu, tu as qui? Toutes les flatteries auprès des dirigeants ne peut pas donner un ministère. Dans un sens spirituel, si quelqu'un devait résumer et répondre à la question, qu'est-ce que notre ministère : Zach Fomum. Depuis la croisade, je vous enseigne Zach Fomum, c'est tout ce que je suis en train d'enseigner. Il y a une vision, c'est spirituel et c'est Dieu qui révèle cela. Remercie le Seigneur pour la vision de Pierre, Jean et Paul. Une révélation du Seigneur Jésus-Christ qui est la base de leur apostolat Ça peut être un buisson ardent, mais derrière cela, tout un ministère. Jésus se révèle à Jean comme l'ancien des Jours pour qu'il puisse le prêcher aux églises. Jésus se révèle à Paul sur le chemin comme la lumière pour que Paul puisse le prêcher partout. Chaque apostolat est diffèrent selon l'aspect que Jésus a choisi de se révéler à la personne. It should help you to understand; We can summarise, so what is our ministry? spiritually, I will say our ministry is Christ manifested and revealed to Zach Fomum and in Zach Fomum. What is our ministry? the Lord Jesus Christ manifested to, in Zach Fomum. That is always the blue print. And those who know where to look will not be confused. And those who receive a man from God know what to follow; they have a revelation; their following is spiritual. The rest is denomination. I shared with you yesterday that first of all, as far as brother Zach is concerned, he did not sit down and plan on the basis of ambitions or his spiritual gift, the work we are doing, it was revealed. It was given to him, not the what? But the who?. The Lord Jesus appeared to brother Zach personally once. Only once. But God the Father appeared to brother Zach distinctly, not dream, not vison, not through his Word, not through the Bible, not by a voice, but personally and manifested himself to him twenty-one (21) times. That is where the ministry came from. It was not the concoction of an intellect, it was a revelation of

12 something that you have not read in biographies. He hardly spoke about it. Even the few times that he mentioned the fact that God the Father appeared to him, he did not dwell on it. He did not like talking about it. So even the people that were around him, even when they sense God, many of them kept fighting it as if they were fighting the man's influence. If you want to hear it, that is where the ministry comes from. That is the leader you never know, even those who were eating and turning around him. That is where the ministry comes from. Praise the Lord! What is our vision? Our vision is to be like Jesus in his being and doing and possessing, and to bring other, and bring localities, nations and generations to also be like Jesus in his being, in his doing, in his possessing, that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God like the waters fills the sea, so that the kingdom of God can come, so that God may be glorified in Christ Jesus. That is our vision. This is presenting our vision to those who are foolish, to those who pride in the intellect. For those who know God, our vision is Christ Jesus revealed and manifested to and in brother Zach, and through him and all who are his. But for those who pride in intellect, what is our vision, it is to become like Jesus individually in our being, in our doing and in our possession, and to labour to transform other individual, other localities, other nations and other generations to be like Jesus in his being, doing and possessing, so that since Christ is the image of the Father, the knowledge of the Lord, in all the miniature Christ, will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea, and his kingdom comes and that God may be glorified in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Within that definition, the one billion disciples are only a small part of the earth being filled with the knowledge of the glory of the lord as the waters fill the sea. We believe that if we bring in the critical mass of disciples of Christ, that the calendar of the Father will hasten the soon coming of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is our vision, in very simple terms for those who know God. Alleluia! Five people come and thank God for our vision.