This is for the Joesphs’, the Davids’, the Moses’, the Elijahs’, and the John the Baptists’. This is written for those who have been in the dungeon, the desert, the wilderness, or hidden in the woods. Those who thought they would never make it out alive. And the truth is, you didn’t make it out alive. You died somewhere in that place. You are no longer living, and now Christ can live in you. The Father sends those who Christ is living in and through, because the Father trusts the Son and puts all things into His hands. Your sending and commissioning is coming, for others it is here.
Maybe you live in a large city or a rural area without any disciples like you around, or ministry a that is burning with the fire of God. You’ve been alone on a spiritual journey of following Jesus with no one else to come with you. You felt like you were the only one, because you didn’t know others that were on the journey (though you knew there were others on the journey). The days turned into years and you came to understand exactly what David and Joseph went through. Maybe you’ve been “out there” alone for a long time, and the Lord is speaking to you about gathering with other disciples of His, so He can build His church. You could be wandering if you will fit in to what or where the Lord is calling you to after being outside the established camp for so long. But the Lord has been preparing you.
You may not have actually been in prison like Joseph, but you felt as if you were in a prison. Working at a job that you didn’t want to do because your heart had been captured and transformed by the King. Like Jesus, your desire became to do the work of the Father, but you found yourself trapped in the prison cell of your career. The Lord revealed Himself to you in such a degree that your desire for your career faded. Not only did it fade, it turned to disdain. You keep saying within yourself, “This isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing.” Your spirit groaned within you in pain, “I’m supposed to be releasing my Father’s Kingdom. I’m supposed to be setting captives free from their prison cells of darkness. I have to proclaim the name of Jesus.”
The cry of your heart is, “I want to matter. I want to make a difference in this life. I don’t want to waste my time on this earth.” Others are satisfied working for money so that that they can have a “good life.” You are not. You view working only for money as similar to that of being a prostitute. One definition of prostitute is, “a person who willingly uses his or her talent or ability in a base and unworthy way, usually for money.” So in a way, if we are driven by money instead of purpose, we are similar to that of a prostitute (we give our body, talent, and time in a meaningless way for money).
You encountered the Lord and His glorious presence and it ruined you for everything else. All you want to do is be with Him, see His Kingdom spread, and preach His name. You want to preach Him because He is in you and expanding. It’s just something that “is.” You know that you know, that you are supposed to preach His name. The Lord is becoming your life and your being. You feel like you are not supposed to be working in your current job any longer, and you can hardly force yourself to do it one more day. You see it as a prison cell that keeps you from doing what you were predestined to do from the foundation of the world.
Those times you encountered the Lord changed you. You are not the same and you can never go back to who you were before. A hunger for the presence of God drives you. Your heart longs to be alone with Him without the noise and distractions of everyday life. The word of the Lord is shut up in you burning like a fire, and you feel as if you can barely hold it inside of you any longer. You want to scream His name out and see His glorious fire fall around you. You want to put your hand on someone and see the Holy Spirit burn His spiritual fire into them, so that the person encounters God like you have.
But you are still in the prison cell of Joseph or the wilderness of David. They each spend 13 years in their respective trials. Maybe you have spent around the same amount of time, and your time of release is drawing near. Joseph and David surely wondered if their day of release would ever come, just as you have. Their faith and their hope was not perfect, so take courage. Just as their day came, so will yours.
You had to watch others who were younger than you be sent or commissioned before you. Some of these people spend a fraction of the time in the wilderness that you did. Some took 2-6 years to prepare for their calling once they received the revelation. You have already been waiting over a decade, and working on a second decade. How could this be? The pain of this sinks deep within you. You’re not jealous of others who are younger and spent far less time in preparation, but it simply hurts to see them doing what you are supposed to be doing; but you are not doing it because you’re still waiting on the Lord to move.
Then He reveals to you a principal to help ease your pain. Certain people skip the preparation process because they want their will right now, and will not wait for the Lord to move in His time. The Israelites were rightly upset that Samuel’s sons were not following the Lord so they asked for a King. Instead of seeking God’s solution, they moved in their own will and got out of His timing:
“But their demand displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge and rule over us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them.” (1 Samuel 8:6-7 AMP)
The people rejected the Lord’s timing and His way of doing things. Therefore God decided to just give them what they wanted. I wonder how many believers, called to ministry, reject the Lord’s ways and His timing? I wonder how many “demand” He commission them right away, and He decides to simply do what they demand? The above scripture teaches us the ways of the Lord, and we should take notice. We all know the end result of one who became king, Saul.
Saul was called to be king in the beginning of 1 Samuel Chapter 10, and commissioned to be king at the end of chapter 11. Almost instantly, Saul was in ministry after receiving the call. Saul lacked years of inward preparation that brings the maturity necessary to handle that kind of commissioning. We must learn through the life of Saul that there cannot be short-cuts to the commissioning. The process of preparation after David’s call prepared him to be commissioned into his ministry that was assigned by the Lord. Saul failed in the long term because his process of preparation was as quick as a flash of lightning. The test we must face is the “delay of God.”
“Now Saul waited seven days, according to the appointed time which Samuel had set, but Samuel had not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering away from Saul. So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering [which he was forbidden to do].” (1 Samuel 13:8-9 AMP)
The messenger that represented God and His will arrived later in order for Saul to be tested. The test was if Saul would be moved by any thing other than the Lord and operate independently of God. This was the same test Jesus faced when Satan told Him to throw Himself from the temple and prove Himself. Saul chose to move without God, and it grieved the Lord. The Lord didn’t remove Saul from his ministry office, but He did regret giving him his position (1 Samuel 15:35).
Hearts After God
The most precious gift we can have is a heart that is after God’s heart. This means a heart that is representing God’s heart, and it means a heart that is passionately pursuing God’s heart. When Saul failed his first test, the Lord revealed those who He is looking at for positions of authority:
“But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”” (1 Samuel 13:14 AMP)
Many are called but few are chosen. The commissioning comes to those who are truly after the Lord’s heart. This means they want to please the Lord more than man. It means that if their Master is not moving, they are not moving. If their Master is not doing, these vessels are not doing. These chosen ones can feel the rhythm of the King’s heart beat. Their focus is what the King’s heart beats for. Their whole world is to be pure vessels of the will of the Lord.
The only way you can be a person after the Lord’s heart is to be before His heart beat in the secret place and listen to it. What is it saying? How does He want to reveal Himself in you? We must find a place before the Lord and hear what the Spirit is saying. We must feel the cadence of the Lord’s heart beat, so our hearts can be transformed into hearts that are like the Lord’s. When our hearts are in His likeness, we will be moving according to His beating heart. We will know what His desires are.
Commissioning of Jesus
Even though Jesus was perfect, He waited until the Father’s perfect timing to enter ministry. Being perfect, He could have gone into public ministry and properly handled the anointing of the Holy Spirit at age 22 (for example). However, the age of 30 represented “the mature man” in the Jewish culture. At the age of 30, a son could be entrusted with the father’s estate, and could be given the authority to handle a father’s business. The Father waited to send Jesus at age 30 as an example to us. Twelve year old Jesus teaches us what is important during the waiting and preparation process:
“When they saw Him, they were overwhelmed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Listen, Your father and I have been [greatly distressed and] anxiously looking for You.” And He answered, “Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand what He had said to them.” (Luke 2:48-50 AMP)
The word “house” is added to the text and is not in the original Greek. Some versions translate the verse, “to be about my Father’s business.” This is also a mistranslation, as a Greek word for “business” is not in the text either. The verse should be translated, “Did you not know that I had to be in the presence of my Father, or (resting in my Father).” While Jesus was waiting to be commissioned, He was resting in the presence of the Father. He was not striving or restless. Jesus was not “trying” to do things for God. He was being an example to us by being with God in the temple, which is being shown symbolically through the text. Our body is the temple of God, and we can go within the temple and be in the presence of the Father to rest in Him whenever we choose.
Those who choose to skip this practice (which apparently Jesus engaged in for at least 18 years or more before His commissioning), will decrease the effectiveness of their entire ministry many times over. Being with the Father in His presence is the cornerstone of true ministry. It is what ministry is to be all about. Ministry to the Father comes before ministering to anyone else. At age 12, Jesus teaches us the most important lesson of all. Relationship and intimacy are what the Father desires. Commissioning comes of being before the face of the Father. An inward becoming like the Father in necessary before an outward sending
Power
Jesus didn’t go around preaching and doing works of power before He was commissioned into ministry by the Father. He waited until He was sent before He healed the sick or casted out demons. Then He went forth in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14). This means that Jesus did not have the power of the Spirit prior to being baptized in the Jordan river, and being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. The scriptures make it clear that Jesus was empowered with the Holy Spirit by the Father:
“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38 NKJV)
So if Jesus is all-powerful God, why does He need to be anointed with the Holy Spirit? This is because Jesus, being fully God, willingly laid down His power (Philippians 2:6-7 AMP) as to only operate by the power of the Holy Spirit at the direction of the Father. Jesus stated that He could do nothing of Himself (John 5:30). Meaning that He literally could not do a work of power unless the Father told Him or showed Him to do a miracle. Jesus demonstrated what a man could do who was yielded to the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit and power.
With the commissioning comes the Holy Spirit and power. Peter found this reality out:
“to such an extent that they even carried their sick out into the streets and put them on cots and sleeping pads, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on one of them [with healing power]. And the people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.” (Acts 5:15-16 AMP)
Jesus wants to give this power to His disciples as He has in the past. First, we must be approved of God and commissioned by God. Sending ourselves because we have read the Bible and believe in healing for the sick is not the answer. Jesus believed in healing, but He was not out healing the sick until His commissioning. Some have taught that believers are to go out and pray for the sick because it’s in the Bible. Parting the Red Sea and calling down fire from Heaven are in the Bible also, but that doesn’t mean we are supposed to do those things. Walking on water is in the Bible, but do we go out and walk on water often?
Jesus did what He saw the Father doing. Spiting in mud to make clay, and then rubbing it in someone’s eyes isn’t going to heal blindness. However, if the Father says to do that, blindness will be healed. Obeying the Lord is key. Jesus’ disciples did not start healing the sick and casting out demons until they were sent by Jesus to do so (Matthew 10:5-8). Has Jesus sent you out? We can read the Bible and know it to be truth, but it becomes true to us when the Holy Spirit speaks it to us personally.
Have you ever prayed for someone and they didn’t get healed or delivered? Jesus never prayed for one person that wasn’t set free. This wasn’t because He is Jesus. It was because first and foremost, He had been sent. Secondly, He was following the direction of the Father. You can pray for people, but if you have not been commissioned; only some will get healed. Jesus heals through those He sends, and He only sends His disciples. Just because someone is a believer does not mean they are following Jesus as a disciple.
The Cross
If you have not yet died to a certain measure of your self-life, then your sending forth to complete the will of the Father has not yet come. But it will come if you follow Christ as a disciple and submit to His specifically designed cross that He has picked out just for you. He knows exactly what kind of abrasive wood is needed to rub against your fleshly life. He knows the perfect size of nail for your wrists. You will have to decide if the commissioning is worth it to you. The cost of being a sent one will be your whole life:
“So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:33 AMPC)
If your whole life is not given up and given over to Christ and His will, you cannot be a disciple. If you cannot be a disciple of Jesus, then you will not be sent by Jesus. He only sends disciples. The word disciple means “learner” or “a person who is learning a subject.” The subject a disciple is to learn is the person of Christ, His ways, His heart, a to be His representation. A believer is someone who simply believes in Christ for salvation. A disciple is one who is learning directly from Christ because they are following Him on a life long journey, and progressively being transformed into His image.
Authority
At a certain point in the discipleship process, Jesus released authority to his messengers:
“I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.”” (Matthew 16:19 AMP)
“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”” (John 20:22-23 NKJV)
Jesus gives authority to His disciples (when He commissions them) to bind demons and cast them out of people. He gives authority to release people from infirmities and other bonds of darkness. He also releases another level of authority to leaders who are commissioned into apostolic or prophetic ministry. This authority can, at the direction of the Holy Spirit, be used to forgive sins in order to set captives free from their prison cells of darkness. Jesus demonstrated the operation of this authority:
“Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”” (Mark 2:3-5 NKJV)
The Holy Spirit always directs when to use this level of authority. There are certain circumstances that require the use of this apostolic authority to set the captives free. For example, the person may not be able to speak or pray because a demon has a high level of control over their soul, and is not letting them verbally repent. Their sin may need to be forgiven before they can be healed. However something in the person’s heart wants to repent, encounter God, and be set free; and that is why they came for prayer. In a situation like this, it may be necessary to use the delegated authority to forgive the person’s sins and get them delivered.
“Is anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14-15 AMP)
The above scripture also describes this authority to forgive sins given to church elders and overseers (apostles, prophets, and teachers according to 1 Corinthians 12:28). This level of authority is currently being restored to the church by the Holy Spirit. This is the authority of Jesus Christ through His messengers. Christ is the Head of the church, and He reveals Himself to His body through His appointed leadership. Christ Himself speaks and ministers through apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Jesus manifests Himself as the Head and Leader through these commissioned ministers, and thus builds His living stones (believers) together into a dwelling place in the Spirit (the temple of God).
A body is not complete unless all its body parts are present and functioning. The same is true with the head of the body. All five “headship” ministries must be in place and functioning together for the head to be properly attached to the body. If the head is not properly attached to the body, the body will not grow the way Jesus intends. Leaders are not the “head” themselves, as only Christ can fill that role. But Christ the Head moves through the leaders of His choosing to be the Head to His body. Part of a head will not bring the church to maturity.
In order for the temple of God to be built so the Lord will have a dwelling place of rest, He has to restore true authority to His leaders. As the Lord is doing this, it is very important we hear the Lord through His leaders and obey. When the Lord is speaking through a leader and we reject the word or their ministry, it is dangerous. In Acts Chapter Five, the apostles were demonstrating this true authority, and two believers desired to be recognized and admired among the people of God. They lied so that others in the church would honor them and see them as “going all the way for God.” But the Holy Spirit spoke through Peter and the authority came forth in a negative way of judgment which killed the two believers.
The authority is a double edge sword. It can be used to build, or it can be used to tear down. It can be used to forgive sins and raise the dead to life, or it can be used to retain sins and take life. This authority is needed to see the church come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and without the authority the church will remain in an immature state. The Lord has been preparing leaders to handle this high level of authority. The Lord has chosen to use leaders all through history (from Genesis until our time). He does not change.
Paul an apostle, exercised this authority in 1 Corinthians Chapter Five. A man was in unrepentant sexual sin, so the apostle retained the man’s sins and ordered he be cast out of the church until he repented. One infected body part could infect the entire body (church) in that region. So for the health, protection, and love of the entire body; the man’s sins were retained until he repented. This leadership authority is being restored.
The Sending
“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:34-35 NKJV)
The spiritual food of Jesus was to do the will of the Father. The will of the Father is withdrawing often to the wilderness to pray, or being before the Father. Other times the will of the Father is to be sent into ministry. Some have been waiting so long that they think the harvest is not for another four years or so. But Jesus is saying to some, “Look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest now.”
To some He is saying, “Now is the time for you to step into what I have called you.” For others, you are approaching the season to be sent by God. And there are some that still have training and pruning to undergo before they can be sent. We must not look at what the Lord is doing with others. We need to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us directly, and discern where we are on the journey with Him. We only go when He sends us.
“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:1-2 NKJV)
When it’s time, Jesus will send His disciples to locations where He is personally going. Jesus is going to build spiritual houses in certain locations. He is going to release outpourings of the Holy Spirit in certain places. His assignments are specific for a reason. He has strategic plans in our generation for the reviving and rebuilding of His church in certain locations. Clearly, the will of the of the Godhead is for more laborers to be sent into His harvest. We are actually commanded to pray that the Lord would send out more ministers.
“And how will they preach unless they are commissioned and sent [for that purpose]? (Romans 10:15 AMP)
I believe a lot of ministers and missionaries have experienced much failure and hardship because they sent themselves. Some were in ministry 20 years or more before the power of God started operating. Their ministries struggled for years, then all of a sudden God was doing ministry through them and things were easier.
Did Jesus struggle when the Father sent Him into ministry? Did He see a lot people walk away unhealed? Did the apostles struggle in ministry when they first started out? Were they having difficulties getting people healed and delivered? When God sends you, you have His power and authority with you. You don’t struggle to minister. The Lord ministers through you, and results will take place with ease. Obviously there will be battle and spiritual warfare, but I am not discussing that aspect.
“So they began going from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing the sick everywhere.” (Luke 9:6 AMP)
“The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like [a flash of] lightning. Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.” (Luke 10:17-19 AMP)
“And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord was working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed.]” (Mark 16:20 AMP)
We must surrender to the Lord’s way of doing things if we want to see the scriptures manifested in our lives. The Lord is testing us to see if we will align ourselves with Him and wait to be sent by Him. A degree from seminary, a prophetic school, or a supernatural ministry school will not give you the power and authority for ministry. Only Jesus can do that. Degrees can’t send you, only Jesus can.
Signs and Wonders
It’s important to note that not all ministers moving in signs and wonders are commissioned by God. I address this truth and balance this revelation in my teaching titled, “The Power of God.” However, those truly commissioned by the Lord will carry the evidence that the Lord is with them through signs, wonders, and miracles. The scriptures testify of this truth:
“But the testimony which I have is far greater than the testimony of John; for the works that the Father has given Me to finish—the very same works [that is, the miracles and proofs of My deity] that I am [now] doing—testify about Me, [by providing evidence] that the Father has sent Me.” (John 5:36 AMP)
“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”” (John 10:37-38 NKVJ)
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—” (Acts 2:22 NKJV)
“How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]? For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself], and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak]. [Besides this evidence] it was also established and plainly endorsed by God, Who showed His approval of it by signs and wonders and various miraculous manifestations of [His] power and by imparting the gifts of the Holy Spirit [to the believers] according to His own will. (Hebrews 2:3-4 AMPC)
“And Moses said, By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I do not act of my own accord: If these men die the common death of all men or if [only] what happens to everyone happens to them, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord causes a new thing [to happen], and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol (the place of the dead), then you shall understand that these men have provoked (spurned, despised) the Lord! As soon as he stopped speaking, the ground under the offenders split apart And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households and [Korah and] all [his] men and all their possessions. [Num. 26:10, 11.] They and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol (the place of the dead); and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.” (Numbers 16:28-33 AMPC)
Purpose
The Father has placed “purpose” in our hearts. Our primary purpose is to know Christ inwardly and have Him increase in us to His full measure. Once He has possessed us, we are able to represent Him just as He represented the Father. Without this understanding, many believers will not go on to attain to the high calling. Our secondary purpose is to complete the Father’s work that He has for us on this earth during our lives’ in these temporal bodies. We must have our primary purpose in place before we can be commissioned into our secondary purpose. If we lose sight of either purpose, we will be at great risk of becoming spiritually stale. Satan seeks to destroy both of these purposes, and trap us in the mundaneness and busyness of this natural life. We need the Lord’s help to stay focused on our primary purpose.
Understanding the Times
“Of the tribe of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, two hundred chiefs; and all their relatives were at their command;” (1 Chronicles 12:32 AMP)
The heads, chiefs, or leaders of God’s people are about to be commissioned. There are already some trusted leaders of the Lord’s people who have been commissioned directly from the Lord. However a company of leaders is needed to arise and lead the people of the Lord in the final generation before the return of the Lord. Just as there were 200 chiefs in the tribe of Issachar, the Lord will release chiefs in proportion to the need, locations, and number of His people.
The Hebrew word for “times” can also be translated “seasons.” We have been entering into a new season in which the Lord is emphasizing “building.” The Hebrew word for “understood” in the above scripture holds great meaning:
Part of the pictograph (of the Hebrew word) is a picture of the tent (a building or house). The other symbol is a picture of a sprouting seed, and represents continuity as the seed continues through the next generation. The combined meaning of these letters mean “the continuing of the house”. We must understand what the Lord is emphasizing (in this season), the Lord is emphasizing the commissioning of His leaders with understanding, so His house can be built and continue into full Christ-life.
Several Hebrew letters contained in the word for “understood,” are filled with meaning. They symbolize the building of a family, or a structure for housing the family. The Holy Spirit is continually speaking in this season about the building of our own families in a godly way, and the building of the family of God (the church). His heart is set on having His temple built and established for His pleasure and rest.
Satan has waged an all out assault against families (husbands, wives, sons, and daughters). If Christian families are decimated, the family of God (the church) will be broken and lie in ruins. The focus must shift to ensuring spiritual health in our homes, which is the foundation for a healthy corporate church. Once healthy foundations are in place and progressing in the Spirit, houses of God (the church is various regions) can begin to walk in fullness.
The Lord is going to release His grace for the building of His family through His commissioned leaders in this season. His leaders will take God’s people from Egypt to Canaan in the Spirit. This will be a journey from bondage to a place where Christ dwells in His people to such a degree that inward rest is achieved. Christ’s desire is to have a house built (believers as living stones), so that He is filling them. Believers rest in Christ and Christ rests in them. This is a spiritual journey in which Christ takes possession of the “land” in us. He transforms us and knits us together with other believers, so we are formed into a spiritual house or family. Then we continue as a family into the next age or millennial Kingdom of Christ. A generation of spiritual family is going to cross over together and continue into the next age.
Worship Before His Presence
“So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as each day’s work required; and Obed-edom with his sixty-eight relatives; also Obed-edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, were to be gatekeepers. David left Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests before the dwelling place (tabernacle) of the Lord in the high place which was at Gibeon, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually, morning and evening, in accordance with all that is written in the Law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel.” (1 Chronicles 16:37-40 AMP)
The commissioned leadership will turn the hearts of the people back to the Lord, as they have hearts after the Lord’s heart. While it seems foolish (from a natural prospective) to appoint worshipers to minister to the Lord as their full time job, it is actually one of our primary purposes for being. A true leader values ministry to the Lord above all else. The new breed of leadership will recognize the importance of ministry to the Lord and supply finances to believers who are called to function in this capacity as Asaph was.
I’m not necessarily talking about 24/7 prayer and worship, or a worship leader who has a gifting to sing. I’m thinking in terms of specific disciples who have a call to minister to the Lord full time, and they love to do so. Their heart’s desire is to worship, pray, and wait upon the Lord. It’s not a duty for these rare breed of disciples, it’s a lifestyle they hunger for; and there is a purity in them. The leadership will need to make sure these worshipers have their financial needs met as David did. With a commissioning comes resources. The church can pay believers to do a lot of different ministry jobs or functions, but it’s time one of the most important roles and functions be recognized and compensated. Great breakthroughs in the Spirit will occur when this happens.
The Dread Champions
“But the Lord is with me as a dread champion [one to be greatly feared]; Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not overcome [me].” …. (Jeremiah 20:11 AMP)
The leaders that are being raised up and commissioned will be “dread champions,” as David was a dreaded champion who killed a giant man. These leaders will only be dread champions because the Dread Champion Himself is with them. David was a mighty champion because the Lord was with him. So will it be in the coming days. The Lord will be with these leaders and empower them to overcome the enemy. Believers who are under their ministry will be protected by Christ the Dread Champion who is with the leader in a terror-striking capacity. Powerful breakthrough in the spirit realm will be released by these ministries.
“The breaker [the Messiah, who opens the way] shall go up before them [liberating them]. They will break out, pass through the gate and go out; So their King goes on before them, The Lord at their head.”” (Micah 2:13 AMP)
The dread champions will lead believers into the true promise land. A spiritual land in which Christ becomes all. A land inside of the believer where Christ has taken possession (our minds, will, and emotions). Complete peace and rest can be achieved if we submit to the will of the Lord, and His high calling for us. Christ is seeking to transform our inward conflicting nature into a beautiful land of promise. A land flowing with spiritual milk and honey. Let us seek this reality in prayer, and submit to how Christ wants to bring this to pass. Jesus will have His promise land of rest within a remnant of His people. Let’s be apart of it.
