“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a perfect teacher of the law of the God of heaven, and at this time: I have made a decree that in my kingdom, everyone of the people of Israel, their priests, and the Levites, whoever desires to go up to Jerusalem, shall go up with you. For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inspect Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand, and to bring the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, and all the silver and gold which you have collected from throughout the province of Babylon, together with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, which they offer for the house of their God, which is in Jerusalem; therefore, with this money, buy oxen, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem. And whatsoever it seems good to thee and to thy brethren to make of the rest of the silver and gold, that ye shall do according to the will of your God. And the vessels which are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, that thou shalt set before the God of Jerusalem. And whatsoever you think fit for the house of thy God, that you shall bring forth out of the house of the king’s treasures. And I, King Ahasuerus, make a commandment unto all the treasurers that are beyond the river, saying, Whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, give it speedily: up to a hundred talents of silver, and up to a hundred corks of wheat, and up to a hundred baths of wine, and up to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without any limit. All that the God of heaven hath commanded, let it be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven; [beware that no one lays hand upon the house of the God of heaven,] lest his wrath come upon the kingdom, the king, and his sons. “And we certify you that no tribute, tax, or custom shall be levied on any of the priests or Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinims, or those who serve this house of God. “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people beyond the River—all who know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. “And whoever does not do the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him promptly, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to fine, or to imprisonment. Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s heart to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and who has extended kindness to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers.” “And I was encouraged, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me. And I gathered the chief men of Israel to go up with me.” (1 Ezra 7:12-28)
This is the structure, the regulations, and the strategy of the Apostolic Church. This is the instruction manual for the Apostolic Mantle. Consider each point—this is the command on how to transition the church into the Apostolic Mantle.
Ahasuerus acts as a ruler, the King of kings. He acts as the one who gives us the mandate—to build the House of the Lord. We have received from God a mandate with a seal—to build the House of God. We—brothers and sisters, shepherds—must shift into the Apostolic dimension. We must stop playing games, fighting the dark sides of our character, stop “preaching ourselves”—we must move into God’s mandate. Remember this: the mandate is given, and this is called “ambassadorship”. When we forget why we came to a place, we cease to receive the grace and resources we were given: the sent one loses contact with the “headquarters,” stops receiving instructions from the “rear,” and becomes a mere migrant. We must ensure that this doesn’t happen with our missions. We are sent with an assignment: to build the House of God.
This command continues to sound: “Go, for I am sending you!” The King says: “…for you are sent by seven counselors”—these are the seven spirits of God, this is the holy Word, a teaching for us that a blessing is given even from the seven spirits of God to those who move as ambassadors and keep their mission.
“…to inspect Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God”—this is not a geographical map, but a map of peoples, clans, tribes, families, bloodlines—a different map. God has a different map—it’s not political or even relief-based; it’s composed of nations, peoples, tribes and languages—the very language the Lord uses when He speaks of the heavenly picture of worship. This is where we’re going. We’re not going to states, regions, or districts. We’re going to the nations.
“…and to bring the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, and all the silver and gold which you have collected from throughout the province of Babylon, together with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, which they offer for the house of their God, which is in Jerusalem”—all this must serve the Lord. First, God provides for us, and we have enough to fulfill all the will of God. Perhaps in your eyes, this is not enough, perhaps it is less than others have, but it is enough for you to do the work as you have achieved. You have just enough to fulfill God’s work. You can’t say that you do not have enough money to evangelize. It is true, we’re not naive enough to not understand that silver is responsible for everything. But nevertheless, you know: the little that is given is broken and multiplied. Therefore, the king commands: “Whatever you take from here, use it for the House of God.” And he says, “Buy it immediately.” How beautiful! This is Ahasuerus! What is being said here? Offering! So that there will be no lack of offering. The oxen are the offering of the Lamb, the bread is an offering, the pourings are offerings.
“And offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem”—offer them quickly, so that God will bless the king and his sons! Do you understand? That Christ may be exalted; it is He who is spoken of here.
“And whatsoever it seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that shall you do according to the will of your God”—here begins the freedom to serve. When I first believed, I was amazed by the fact that I could serve God without limitations. I could praise Him at night, I could stop praising Him and go to bed, or I could continue praising Him as much as I wanted. This is my freedom. I can offer so much—no one can tell me, “Stop!” This amazed me, and it still amazes me today. Not freedom for the flesh, but freedom for Him!
“And whatever else you see fit for the house of your God, give it out of the king’s treasure house”—look at the kind of man he was—”this is the ministry of leadership, when you inspire initiative, when for you the people’s initiative isn’t a threat to division or rebellion, but rather brings you joy, like to a father. You provide the resources and say, “Do it!” The king says, “Whatever seems good to you…” The king provides the treasury and isn’t afraid of “thieves”: because God’s grace is sufficient. But sometimes pastors act more like overseers, that don’t let people release themselves. This is sad. Apostolic mantle liberates people, it doesn’t restrict them. This is why missions succeed or fail. For us, initiative is not a threat, but a blessing. It is far more dangerous to do nothing.
“And I, King Ahasuerus, make a commandment unto all the treasurers that are beyond the river, saying, Whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, give it speedily…” Now about God’s resources: these are the gifts of ministry, these are the fruits, this is the silver, this is access to energy flows, to sources of strength—both material and spiritual—these are treasuries. See how God’s treasuries are organized. That is, he gave access to all the “banking” systems: “…silver up to a hundred talents, and wheat up to a hundred corvées, and wine up to a hundred baths, and oil up to a hundred baths, and salt without any indication of quantity.”
I once had a dream in which I saw a huge glass cube in front of me, filled to the brim with banknotes. And I asked my brother, “How much is this?” He answered, “A hundred thousand!” I thought, “Foolish man! There are billions here.”
And another dream. I went to a store, and there was an eagle, a lion, and something else. And then a man appeared. They told me, “You can choose, sign a check for any amount. But to receive this amount, you must fill out a form.” And the form was very complex: it was a large sheet with many items, very complex. And then the man appeared and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll fill it out, you just sign the numbers.” He filled out the entire form and handed me a pen to write the numbers and sign. This was a revelation, not a fabrication.
This is what Ahasuerus gave to Ezra. This is God’s resource. We often limit God. We don’t measure Him by faith; we limit Him by unbelief. We don’t speak by faith, but by unbelief. We don’t breathe by faith, but sigh with doubt. And instead of believing and taking giant steps of self-sacrifice in faith, jumping into the ocean, trusting that the Lord will carry us, we establish a system of doubts: “That’s not right,” “Here’s not right,” “What about him?”, “What about her?” This is all bad.
Today I proclaim the Apostolic Strategy for those churches that must leap from pastoral to apostolic: this is how we must believe! I read to you the king’s mandate, a document bearing the king’s seal and signature. This mandate hangs here today, in the air. Whoever takes it is an eagle; he will carry it and present it to officials, to any earthly authority, to demons—in every city and region, he will display this mandate from the king of kings, Ahasuerus. At that time, he was the king of all kings, of all the ends of the earth, and whoever disobeyed, he waged war and conquered. This is how the ministry of the Apostles is carried out. And answer for yourself: have you changed your mantle, or have you ever worn one at all?
This is the mandate the Lord gives, and this is the Word for this time. If you believe and accept it, you will carry it with you. If you can’t handle it, it will turn to stone and remain here, in this place.
“And we give you a clear command that we impose no tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests or Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinims, or those who serve this house of God”—we owe nothing to anyone; the sons of the Kingdom are free: we are free to evangelize, free to move throughout the world. The fish brought the tribute—and it wasn’t a fairy tale, it was Jesus.
“But you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges”—the wisdom of God is in my hand! “…that they may judge all the people beyond the River, and all who know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them”—teach the Word of God, not strange ideas, psychology, philosophy, and magic! Let us teach people so that we don’t have laymen in churches, but workers, disciples. This is the Apostolic Church, and it gives birth to disciples.
“Whoever does not fulfill the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him immediately, whether it be death, or banishment, or a fine, or imprisonment”—that is not our concern; the angelic powers will sort it out.
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s heart to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and who has extended kindness to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers!” Bless God, teach the people to bless and give thanks for everything, and be thankful yourselves. Let us move to gratitude. Leaving everything behind, let us move to gratitude. Don’t we have much to be thankful for?
“And I was encouraged, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me. And I gathered the chief men of Israel to go up with me.” We will go with Jesus. Ezra is like an Apostle, like Peter, like Paul. And we follow Christ—glory to Him!