Concerning the Five Fold
7 Marks of The Kind of Reformer God will use to bring change in ministries, communities, cities and regions...and root out the vestiges of Babylon...
The reformer found by God will of course need to be 'strong' otherwise the mission will be dead before it matures! This strong leader will be dislodging satanic principles and worldly mindsets by the Spirit of God. This strong leader will deal with many saints who do not understand the vision of God but love offices and may be willing to sabotage the grand purpose of God without knowing it. The strong leader will be secure in God and sold out to His purpose and proceed with conviction, passion and total focus to ensure that both the content and structure of the gospel mission is expressly in line with the revealed will of God. These will be non negotiable foci of the Spirit led, bible based ministry:
1. Exaltation of The Word of God and Jesus Christ in all His Divine Office. There will be an openness to the Holy Spirit to lead, direct, correct, chastise and change course even when inconvenient. To produce true worshippers in line with the criteria set out by Jesus in John 4:23-24 is non negotiable!
2. The reformer will do a self audit to ascertain the gifts and offices graciously endowed by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. He/She will deploy all of those gifts and discharge the offices with every grace and strength God has blessed.
3. The reformer will know that he/she alone cannot and should not lead the people of God. The realization is real that the master plan of Jesus is to use the Five Fold - Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers - to synergistically perfect the saints, equip them for work of ministry and mature them to be strong and stable, able to withstand various winds of doctrine. Ephesians 4:11-16. With this, the reformer will never rest until God connects him/her with other sincere fivefold officers who have what he/she lacks. The real people who will last in the relationship are men and women who are equally dead to self and ambition! They come together to complement, not compete! As spiritual people, they have no difficulty submitting to one another in their various areas of grace neither is there any difficulty in submitting to the Christ in the vessel chosen divinely as vision holder.
4. The reformer realises that beyond the days of expounding the vision, training the leadership and empowering them, it is his/her responsibility to be used of the King to create space for the other folds to rise in the dimension of their calling. He/she will do this because the purpose in ministry is pure!
5, To safeguard their hearts from corruption, such reformers will also walk in understanding that the five fold is not sufficient to lead the saints. The five fold need to concentrate in the Presence of God in prayer, worship, studying and meditating on the word and need to be insulated from the potential distractions of management of money and other material assets as well as welfare of saints.
6. Accordingly, the reformers will doggedly challenge and empower those in the Market Place to consecrate their skills and hearts to the King and serve as Deacons in the local congregations. When they take their place, the resources of Kingdom ministries will be managed more efficiently and the Five Fold will labour under open heavens, entering into the rest which Jesus releases. Acts 6:1-7.
7. The true reformer cannot subscribe to any purported move of God which exalts one five fold office over the others! For that reason, such reformers will excuse themselves from attempts to run caucuses of say Apostles or Prophets or Evangelists or Pastors and Teachers! They will realize that the King deliberately gave His five fold offices to the whole Body with none preferred above the others! They also realize that the five fold is best and most effective when in true Spirit-led alignment which leads to each complimenting the other. This scripture is etched strongly in the heart and mind of all true reformers: Ephesians 4:11-16.
-If these things resonate in your heart, Abba is calling you to step up the plate! He has been equipping and processing you in the wilderness of rejection, dissatisfaction with the status quo and yearning for change! Look no further than inwards to locate His grace which is deep in you. Say not I am young, single, a woman or poor! Stop using your past failures and inabilities as excuse! God does not call the qualified but rather qualifies the called! You are His appointed battle axe to tear down all ramparts of Babylon in His Body!
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