In
1 Corinthians 12:28 we read: “And
God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations
varieties of tongues” (NKJV). When
I read this, the thought came to me that when the apostles, prophets and
teachers are allowed to develop and function in their God-given calling, then
their ministries and teachings will release the following gifts that are
mentioned in this verse: miracles, gifts of healings, helps (“a
rendering assistance” –
Bullinger’s), administrations
(“those who can get others to
work together” –
The New Living Translation),
and varieties of tongues. As
in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11,
no individual Christian or church can honestly say that these gifts are not
required to be in operation today. The gifts are God-given to enable us to
fulfil the purposes of God in the earth today. Tragically these gifts are
missing in most Christian circles, and there is a lack of real concern as to
why they are not allowed to function.
My
experience in ministering the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are that when we take
the time to focus on them, teach the guide-lines and operation of them (in
love), then an environment is created and it happens. For example, if we focus
and teach on the Word of Knowledge ~ and give the hearers the opportunity to
receive and give Words of Knowledge, then Words of Knowledge come forth to
bless, heal and strengthen the assembled people. If we focus on the Gift of
Prophecy, then people prophesy. If we focus on healing, then people get
healed. Right
now there is a huge need for miracles and gifts of healings to be flowing
amongst the Christian fraternity! A secular, “unbelieving in Jesus Christ”
world, will not be convinced by a “programme mentality” church service
that produces no evidence of the power of God being present! We have somehow
put God into a time slot, and tried to tie Him into a “programme” that He
is not interested in. And God will not be tied down!! He sets the agenda and,
when we obey what He says, then we start to see the miraculous and healings
coming forth as never before. IT’S
TIME! I
say it is time that the apostles, prophets and teachers were given more
recognition ~ and listened to more keenly ~ than is presently the case. The
Christian Church has paid a huge price of impotence for ignoring these major
giftings. Notice the Scripture says: “And
God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third
teachers”!! God Himself has given an order of priority for the
church to heed to. Don’t you think it is time we listened to God? I repeat:
The
Book of the Acts of the Apostles is a record of how the early Church
functioned after the day of Pentecost and the outpouring and the infilling of
the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers on Jesus Christ. You will notice
that often the “order of service” was first a miracle of healing, which
then gathered a crowd of people, at which time the apostles would preach the
Gospel to them, and the result was often scores of people making a commitment
to follow Jesus Christ (see
Acts 3, 4, 5 and 6 for starters).
One does not have to be a “rocket scientist” to know that if they needed
the miracles and healings back at the beginning, how much more, then, do we
need them today!!
The
truth is that if we will follow God’s priorities, then we will have the joy
of being able to demonstrate that the Gospel of Jesus Christ far supersedes
any other religious belief system in the world today. In 2008, when we were
ministering in Nairobi, Kenya (conducting a School of the Holy Spirit), we had
an impartation time where people could come and receive an impartation to help
them to represent Christ better (see my article on “The Ministry Of Impartation” –
freely available on E-Mail to those who request it).
One lady came to receive an impartation to be able to more effectively heal
the sick. On her way home from that very meeting, she met a man (whom she
knew) on the street who suffered with a mental problem. The man asked her to
pray for him, so she did and imparted healing into his life. The power of God
was released through her, and the man was totally healed! So much so that he
has now been released from the mental asylum he was living in! Both the man
and the sister now have wonderful testimonies to share of what Jesus can do!
And personal testimonies of the supernatural, miraculous power of God are hard
to beat! Praise the Lord! RECOGNIZING
APOSTLES, PROPHETS and TEACHERS In
order for God’s priorities to come forth in the Church today, Christian
Leaders must recognize the importance of the apostles, prophets and teachers
being able to function. They ~ the apostles, prophets and teachers ~ hold the
keys of the “now revelation” of God. Teachers must be able to interpret
the revelation of God coming through the apostles and prophets, so they can
teach it to the believers in such a way that the “miracles,
healings, helps, administrations and varieties of tongues” come
forth and are able to freely function in the life of the church. But it is the
Christian Leaders who hold the keys to whether or not these priority giftings
of God are allowed to function. Therefore, they, more than any others, must
recognize the importance of those giftings to come forth and function in their
midst. Until such time as they are in the midst and recognized, then Leaders
need to invite recognized and proven apostles, prophets and teachers to come
and impart their revelation to the people.
That
is why God has placed them in the order of priority that He has. We neglect
them to our own loss. I say we have neglected these ministries for too long
and we have paid dearly ~ far too dearly ~ as a result. God
Bless YOU!
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