Acts 6:7 – “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
I see today that many brothers and sisters in different places are in struggle today because of lack of increase in their ministry. I know this can last for years, and as a result they have lost joy, lost their admiration of Christ, their delight in faith, because they didn’t see success in their ministry. On this path faith gets transformed and glory dims, all because of the desire for success. It seems a good thing – to long for increase. But when a major thing is lost, all the other things fall as well. It’s all connected: you lose light – you lose success, you chase success – your light falls. A pastor who serves in such a spirit, brings no strength to people, because the whole things shifts to obligations and requirements; it’s not about admiring love anymore, but about duty. But you can’t serve out of duty long, because the strength of our ministry is in the light.
And I am more interested in how much love is in you. The most important is that you don’t get discouraged in ministry. Discouraged you get when you lose light, when it gets dim. A lamp bulb is absolutely useless when it’s burned, you can do nothing with it except cast it out to be trodden under foot of men. When we lose light, admiration and delight of the Lord, we become the salt that has lost its flavor, a candle that has been put out.
In times of ministry of Eli the priest the light in the lamp stand was scarce. In some congregations there’s scarce light. When the pastor speaks to manipulate people’s conscience, it doesn’t work, it gets only worse because you can truly serve only with the light. People want light switched on full power. Ministry with no light brings discouragement. When I listen to a preacher I first of all look the light he emanates, only then at the information. And right then the spirit starts to speak and reveal, either to admire or close up. Because “let the light that is in you shine before people”.
We speak about laws of multiplication, and it is a normal condition of a Christian, when he multiplies disciples. And many suffer because they’ve lost something: there are no disciples, no heirs. My happiness is to live in people, when they bring their babies, share their miracles and blessings, and they speak of it with joy – I live in them, this is my happiness, my greatest joy to see other people happy. I think this is what Christ meant when He said “I am in you, and you are in Me, and I am in the Father. Abide in Me, and I will abide in you”. This impartation of your own goals and values, when they flow into your neighbor and not for your own good – this is the path of light.
The most genuine success flows out of your inner riches, your inner man. You can speak about anything with a person rich inside, even joke and laugh – you will still feel God’s presence. But when a person is poor and empty inside, discouraged and has no taste of life… do you still have a taste of life? How sharp is it to cause you get excited about simple things? How much does it stimulate your soul, your heart, your body?
It’s all about your thinking, even yoga people know that in order to overcome cold or time you’ve got to think right. How much higher than that are we, who join with the Creator by our spirit! What incredible things we can do when we are connected to the source.
Some of you may hear this, but not believe, others are listening, but not hearing, but there are those who have received a lot. This is why the Scripture says, “one who has an era let him hear”.
Riches of the spirit must be in church as well. We have so many platforms working, because this is interesting, and we enjoy this; this is so cool to enter a new thing and prove that God is alive! Success flows out of your inner riches. You can’t say, you didn’t get enough education or up-brining – don’t say so. What is NOW with you?
In order to interest a physic you don’t have to be a physic yourself, in order to interest an artist you don’t have to be an artist – you have to be human. Christ didn’t engage in politics and the Roman Empire, but when Pilate met with Him, he said, “here’s Man”. A human hears the voice of love to the spirit.
Out of inner riches, out of inner generosity, out of inner sacrifice, out of inner love, well, interest in your neighbor at least.
Ministry that brings into effect the capacity of the gifts. Gifts are immeasurable. I believe that in each one of us all nine gifts and more can manifest. If you are moved by love, they will manifest. What you should do is gather all your loose strings and fix them right, so that they all are directed to Him and serve Him. Even a meal or any other life format can be transformed into worship. If I receive an assignment from God and we go into fellowship with you, I will make this fellowship worship, not because we will sing together at the end, but because all of this will be unto God in my inner consciousness. All that you do, do it unto Him, not as if for Him, but for Him and in His name. Whether you eat or drink, work or any other thing – do it for Him and you will make your life worship, song, dance – with this cosmic dance in the universe you can dance your life. Or you can complain it through, and someone else will always be guilty that you are miserable. I feel sorry for such people, you are miserable not because someone has made you such. You know Christ – can’t you connect straight to Him and trample on all these things and be victorious! But you have lost your love to God, that’s the point. You may say – no, it’s only God that I love. This isn’t true. If you loved God, you would love that which is born of Him.
Keep yourself high, even if you’ve given in the wrong place, even if you’ve been treated wrongly. This is a simple thought – try to make yourself noble, I am not saying “spiritual”, because sometimes our understanding of spirituality is lower than of nobility, when we can be rude and rough. Think about this, are you a noble person? Are you a knight of the Holy Spirit? Do you act like a prince or princess of God, as it was spoken of Abraham, “you are a prince of God among us”. Try to shift all your things and become noble, and you will see that you need to change a lot of things in your relationship with people.
The likeness of God is to multiply in man.
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”(Gen.1:26-28)
They say St. Francis preached to creation, to birds and trees, and even instructed a wolf, which was damaging people. I think, this is possible – when you step on the earth and it starts to flourish, because you have harmony with God, and you have a right understanding of creation. Because all thing are of the One, both tree and animals and fields – are from the One Shepherd, and you are not to destroy it. Rather bring all your things into harmony and you will gain peace.
We destroy what God makes, and then we can’t understand why we have no peace – because when we destroy, we lose it and replace it with evil.
And it is the highest ministry – to be with God. The highest ministry of man is to take pleasure in God, because God made us for His pleasure. God created us for Himself! If it were not so we wouldn’t pass into eternity through death. But He takes us to Himself, redeemed and cleansed through this life on earth. When Adam fell and denounced eternity – we hold on to it with all our strength demonstrating that our path is different from Adam’s. Amidst all the temptations, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we find and stop by our tree of life, to taste of its sweet fruit.
If God gave us all this, why destroy it? Why get the poison and destroy the fields? Why steel all the natural resources for ourselves, when we take extra, what we actually aren’t able to use?
“And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day”.(Gen.1:29-31)
And the seventh day is still in process, when God rests from all His works. We are in the sixth day. And when the earth completes its journey, and the planets and skies roll down like a scroll, and the elements melt, and all things are taken through the fire – then the seventh day shall come. But God is in eternity and we are already in the Sabbath, which remains for God’s people, so that this Sabbath, this Shabbat, is inside us. And we shall enter it in our new bodies, and shall rest in God, and there will be Shalom in all of the Kingdom of God. No tear ever again, the human body shall not produce tears, no sorrows and cries, no groaning. If we could gather all of the cry and groaning happening at this moment over the planet, we would explode from the cries of mothers and wives and children. Doesn’t God hear all this?
And growth principles are such that you give out of your inner riches. Like in the material world, you can give only what you have, so it is with our light – you can’t give it if you don’t have it. He says, “what I have I give to you – rise in the name of Jesus and walk”. But we try to speak of things we don’t have, that’s why it doesn’t work. Success in ministry flows out of your inner riches – you give as much as you have. Words don’t work, righteousness does. Do you know that the Gospel is the word of righteousness? “When God’s righteousness was revealed” – says in Romans.
There’s natural growth through labor, and this is fair. Paul said, “I labored more than they all”- speaking of the Apostles. And it is said many times that one has to labor much, you sow much – you reap much, you sow little – you reap little. To labor much is blessed by God. Man is called to labor. Many churches don’t grow because they labor little. You may say, doors are closed – but you have prayer and fast, you have people in the street, you have your mouth – all the labor is in your hands. Or is the church supposed to prepare a labor for you?
There’s supernatural growth through God’s favor, that you’ve pleased God in some secret place. Through your faithfulness to your gift and calling God kissed you. Don’t oppose natural and supernatural growth, they go together, because we are in our earthly bodies and have the Holy and Eternal Spirit. God joined the earthly and the heavenly under the head of Christ, so don’t oppose those things – they are to kiss, earth and heaven must kiss, both are needed. And through God’s favor you gain unique relationship with the Lord, which only you and He have, that is God’s mystery in your heart.
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied”.(Acts 9:31) – You think this is prosperity. No, this isn’t our every day life. They were in peace. Peace of God in time of commotion. We’ve got to gain this Shalom of taking pleasure in Christ – how Richard Wurmrand danced before the Lord with his hands tied at the back, how he sang to Him, all beaten and bruised – because he had God’s peace inside Him. Do you have this peace?
They were edified – this is working teaching. You don’t edify with theory, don’t steel people’s time, but people should experience grace, so that they long to be in the service, because there’s going to be an encounter. It says they were edified, and I am edifying you right now, from the Lord, and this is important, to be edified.
Walking in the fear of the Lord – this is the church culture, to honor God and your neighbor, when He is magnified; the spirit of reverence before the Lord, and this spirit caused the church growth.
They were comforted by the Holy Spirit – a powerful presence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit brought comfort. It doesn’t mean they were all getting approved, but the gifts were working, admiration of Christ, when ministers lead people to admiration, to the encounter.
When taken in the rapture the church won’t be heavy taking off as a goose, she will instantly rise and soar, because the church is praying, the church is stirred and inspired. Release the spirit in your churches and do not let quenched spirit speak of nothing. If you have a quenched spirit I don’t want to listen to anything there, I want life above all – open the windows wide and let oxygen in.
There were revivals in the history, and we are able to release such spiritual tornados, at least in our lives.
“And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus: to remember…” (Ezra 6:2)
Well, this scroll that you lost, you have to find. In times of Ezra all things were blocked, God’s people were captives for their sins, it was all dead. But when they found the scroll, a permission from the king came to open the doors to Jerusalem and to restore the temple and the holy city. So find this scroll, to remember. Remember the things you have forgotten. Please, remember what you must remember; seek and find. Stretch yourself to the one near and far. Stretch yourself to mission.
“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:
While the sun and the light, the moon and the stars, are not darkened, – this speaks about the loss of light. – And the clouds do not return after the rain;
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down; when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim; 4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low; when one rises up at the sound of a bird,
and all the daughters of music are brought low. Also they are afraid of height,
and of terrors in the way” (Ekkl.12:1-5)
This is your spiritual old age, and this is said to each one of us. But let us pack up our spiritual back pack and keep it by the door; let it always be ready and fresh. And you should always remember what you forgot to take in order to supply for it. Check it every morning, if your backpack is packed.
And have strong shoes for your feet, so that when the Lord says to you “let’s go”, “on the way”, “take off” you are ready to follow. And be ready to sacrifice. It’s no service to God when you do things that are “pleasant to do”, this doesn’t impress me, either does it God. Only sacrifice does, when people do always what God wants.
You have what you do, your level of sacrifice is your success. Lord, awaken us!