WHAT'S THE QUALITY OF YOUR PULPIT?
Sometime back, I did a post on "The Candlestick," and in which I said, inter alia, "To be unaware of our mandate as a church generation, and as a church congregation in that generation, is to be truly IGNORANT! The ignorant church shall not go unpunished! In the business of the Kingdom, ignorance is no excuse. That's why, as a 'church,' we must SEEK God! We must know our MISSION; we must know our MANDATE! The primary mandate of the church (of all generations) is to make DISCIPLES of all NATIONS (ethnic groups). [The primary word translated in the English New Testament as "nation" is the Greek word "ethnos" (from where we have 'ethnicity')]. Each 'church generation' must know its own mandate within that overall commission. Also, each 'church congregation' must know its own mandate within the overall mandate of its own generation. This is where THE PULPIT of that congregation comes in. 'THE PULPIT,' in this context, is more than that physical desk from where your pastor ministers; although it may be said to be represented by it. 'THE PULPIT,' as a spiritual reality before God, is "the platform of delivery, the platform of expression, of the Mind of God." THE PULPIT can be said to be the angel of the church - - the one that gives the church its direction... For a church to be truly successful, direction (of/for the church) must NOT come from the congregation. Don't minister according to the needs/expectations of the church. Minister as God DIRECTS, according to your MANDATE... We must know our mandate. Your church (by whatever name it is known in the courts of Heaven), must know its mandate! What is YOUR MANDATE? Are you fulfilling that MANDATE? or, are you just going by what is POPULAR?
"The pulpit (of your church) must become CIRCUMCISED! To be circumcised is to be rid of the flesh! - - to be rid of EXCESS BAGGAGE! God, by Deliberate Design, left an "excess baggage" of foreskin (un-needed and unnecessary) on the most important part of a male man (his 'penis,' - - his 'manhood'), knowing that a tim would come when He (God) would require Abraham to rid himself of that excess "flesh." Yes, we still live in the flesh (the physical), but there's an "EXCESS" FLESH (the inhibitant to a truly spiritual life) that we must get rid of, if our ministry is to honour Heaven, honour God, and fulfil our REAL MANDATE!... For a church to fulfil its real mandate, the pulpit must first be circumcised!
"The pulpit must not be a place for frivolity! The pulpit must not be a place for the immature! The pulpit must not be a place for jesters! The pulpit must not be a place for human sympathy! The pulpit must not be a place for human expression! It must be a place for DIVINE EXPRESSION! It must be a place from where we hear the mind of God! Not a place from where we hear what we want to hear! Not a place for serving human need! But a place for serving the NEED of God!... We must preach His Gospel, and not our Gospel! We must preach it in the way He gives it to us (as a generation, and as a congregation in that generation).
Where are the Reformers? We must be the Reformer, where need be, in our own Generation! We must lead the Way, (that is, the pulpit must lead the Way) for the congregation to follow, and not the other way round!
"Every congregation is a reflection of its PULPIT! Every congregation will manifest what its pulpit gives to her!... Every congregation is a manifestation of the quality/lack of quality of its pulpit!... The mandate (for a church, every church, in each GENERATION) flows from the PULPIT of that church congregation, to the people of the congregation, for them to RECEIVE, BELIEVE, ACTUALISE and MANIFEST, thus reproducing after their (own) KIND;... "
So, brethren, ministers of the Glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, WHAT's THE QUALITY OF YOUR PULPIT?
Sometime back, God showed me A PULPIT - - in the realm of the Spirit. I mean, He showed me what in the physical would seem like a "physical pulpit" (a regular structure that we see all the time inside church buildings); only that this particular one was not a 'physical' pulpit, in the regular sense of that word; but, all the same, I still saw it in that revelation as (like) a physical pulpit, but I knew it was a spiritual entity - - "a platform of delivery, a platform of expression, of the Mind of God." I saw it in the Spirit, though appearing as a "physical" (literal) entity. It was simple in its structure, but profound in its make-up - - I saw it like a "pulpit" constructed from various precious stones, that had a spiritually organic linkage with one another - - a LIVING BEING! Yes, that pulpit was ALIVE! It breathed! I could feel the LIFE OF IT; as well as 'SEE' THE LIFE OF IT! It was a living entity! I believe he was showing me my own pulpit - - that is, what my pulpit (my platform of ministry) had been over the years and decades of ministry so far! I was surprised and slightly disappointed that it wasn't a particularly big pulpit, by way of 'physical' size in its appearance! But, it was profoundly beautiful and intricate in its otherwise 'simple' design - - seemingly composed of millions upon millions of precious stones, each of which seemed to personally speak to me!
The Lord knew what I was thinking in my mind - - that, that pulpit (by its "physical" size) seemed to be below my dignity and stature as a minister, over these decades, in God's Kingdom! And He answered my thoughts! He made me to realise that, although I would have wished for it (God's estimate of my ministry so far) to be much "bigger" than the size I saw in that vision, but that it wasn't so much of the size that mattered to Him (God), but the QUALITY! When He told me that, I began to REJOICE! For, what He showed me in that vision, HAD QUALITY! An unearthly quality!
So, WHAT's THE QUALITY OF YOUR PULPIT? What's the quality of the "goings forth" that emanate from your heart, through your mouth, as you stand behind that physical desk, to minister to the people under your charge?
What's the quality of your delivery? what's the substance of your delivery? Are you delivering eloquence and worldly wisdom? Are you delivering a covenant written on "tables of stone," thinking you're preaching "holiness"? Or, are you delivering CHRIST? Are you delivering the SON OF GOD?
And, what's the manner of your delivery?
God showed me some time back, that, just as we have various social classes in this natural world, so it is in the realm of the Spirit, and particularly in the realm of ministry. If your manner and level of delivery, in the spirit, is "peasant," you will raise a spiritually "peasant" congregation! If your level and manner and "content" of delivery is "middle class," you will raise a spiritually "middle-class" congregation; but if your manner, level and "content" of delivery is "aristocratic," you will raise a spiritually "aristocratic" followership.
I began to understand, by the Spirit, why God brought me forth, physically, through an aristocratic lineage - - so that I may understand things at the loftiest level - - so that I may see Christ at His loftiest manifestation, and minister HIM!
Some minister at the pedestrian level! - - they have their place too; but, all too often, the "pedestrianism" of their ministration is in the 'content' of that ministration; and that's not good enough. There's a lot of wood, hay, and stubble, mixed in with their ministration; so, they can only raise a congregation after "that" kind! For, every pulpit will raise a followership "after its own kind"!
WHAT's THE QUALITY OF YOUR PULPIT?
Sometime back, I did a post on "The Candlestick," and in which I said, inter alia, "To be unaware of our mandate as a church generation, and as a church congregation in that generation, is to be truly IGNORANT! The ignorant church shall not go unpunished! In the business of the Kingdom, ignorance is no excuse. That's why, as a 'church,' we must SEEK God! We must know our MISSION; we must know our MANDATE! The primary mandate of the church (of all generations) is to make DISCIPLES of all NATIONS (ethnic groups). [The primary word translated in the English New Testament as "nation" is the Greek word "ethnos" (from where we have 'ethnicity')]. Each 'church generation' must know its own mandate within that overall commission. Also, each 'church congregation' must know its own mandate within the overall mandate of its own generation. This is where THE PULPIT of that congregation comes in. 'THE PULPIT,' in this context, is more than that physical desk from where your pastor ministers; although it may be said to be represented by it. 'THE PULPIT,' as a spiritual reality before God, is "the platform of delivery, the platform of expression, of the Mind of God." THE PULPIT can be said to be the angel of the church - - the one that gives the church its direction... For a church to be truly successful, direction (of/for the church) must NOT come from the congregation. Don't minister according to the needs/expectations of the church. Minister as God DIRECTS, according to your MANDATE... We must know our mandate. Your church (by whatever name it is known in the courts of Heaven), must know its mandate! What is YOUR MANDATE? Are you fulfilling that MANDATE? or, are you just going by what is POPULAR?
"The pulpit (of your church) must become CIRCUMCISED! To be circumcised is to be rid of the flesh! - - to be rid of EXCESS BAGGAGE! God, by Deliberate Design, left an "excess baggage" of foreskin (un-needed and unnecessary) on the most important part of a male man (his 'penis,' - - his 'manhood'), knowing that a tim would come when He (God) would require Abraham to rid himself of that excess "flesh." Yes, we still live in the flesh (the physical), but there's an "EXCESS" FLESH (the inhibitant to a truly spiritual life) that we must get rid of, if our ministry is to honour Heaven, honour God, and fulfil our REAL MANDATE!... For a church to fulfil its real mandate, the pulpit must first be circumcised!
"The pulpit must not be a place for frivolity! The pulpit must not be a place for the immature! The pulpit must not be a place for jesters! The pulpit must not be a place for human sympathy! The pulpit must not be a place for human expression! It must be a place for DIVINE EXPRESSION! It must be a place from where we hear the mind of God! Not a place from where we hear what we want to hear! Not a place for serving human need! But a place for serving the NEED of God!... We must preach His Gospel, and not our Gospel! We must preach it in the way He gives it to us (as a generation, and as a congregation in that generation).
Where are the Reformers? We must be the Reformer, where need be, in our own Generation! We must lead the Way, (that is, the pulpit must lead the Way) for the congregation to follow, and not the other way round!
"Every congregation is a reflection of its PULPIT! Every congregation will manifest what its pulpit gives to her!... Every congregation is a manifestation of the quality/lack of quality of its pulpit!... The mandate (for a church, every church, in each GENERATION) flows from the PULPIT of that church congregation, to the people of the congregation, for them to RECEIVE, BELIEVE, ACTUALISE and MANIFEST, thus reproducing after their (own) KIND;... "
So, brethren, ministers of the Glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, WHAT's THE QUALITY OF YOUR PULPIT?
Sometime back, God showed me A PULPIT - - in the realm of the Spirit. I mean, He showed me what in the physical would seem like a "physical pulpit" (a regular structure that we see all the time inside church buildings); only that this particular one was not a 'physical' pulpit, in the regular sense of that word; but, all the same, I still saw it in that revelation as (like) a physical pulpit, but I knew it was a spiritual entity - - "a platform of delivery, a platform of expression, of the Mind of God." I saw it in the Spirit, though appearing as a "physical" (literal) entity. It was simple in its structure, but profound in its make-up - - I saw it like a "pulpit" constructed from various precious stones, that had a spiritually organic linkage with one another - - a LIVING BEING! Yes, that pulpit was ALIVE! It breathed! I could feel the LIFE OF IT; as well as 'SEE' THE LIFE OF IT! It was a living entity! I believe he was showing me my own pulpit - - that is, what my pulpit (my platform of ministry) had been over the years and decades of ministry so far! I was surprised and slightly disappointed that it wasn't a particularly big pulpit, by way of 'physical' size in its appearance! But, it was profoundly beautiful and intricate in its otherwise 'simple' design - - seemingly composed of millions upon millions of precious stones, each of which seemed to personally speak to me!
The Lord knew what I was thinking in my mind - - that, that pulpit (by its "physical" size) seemed to be below my dignity and stature as a minister, over these decades, in God's Kingdom! And He answered my thoughts! He made me to realise that, although I would have wished for it (God's estimate of my ministry so far) to be much "bigger" than the size I saw in that vision, but that it wasn't so much of the size that mattered to Him (God), but the QUALITY! When He told me that, I began to REJOICE! For, what He showed me in that vision, HAD QUALITY! An unearthly quality!
So, WHAT's THE QUALITY OF YOUR PULPIT? What's the quality of the "goings forth" that emanate from your heart, through your mouth, as you stand behind that physical desk, to minister to the people under your charge?
What's the quality of your delivery? what's the substance of your delivery? Are you delivering eloquence and worldly wisdom? Are you delivering a covenant written on "tables of stone," thinking you're preaching "holiness"? Or, are you delivering CHRIST? Are you delivering the SON OF GOD?
And, what's the manner of your delivery?
God showed me some time back, that, just as we have various social classes in this natural world, so it is in the realm of the Spirit, and particularly in the realm of ministry. If your manner and level of delivery, in the spirit, is "peasant," you will raise a spiritually "peasant" congregation! If your level and manner and "content" of delivery is "middle class," you will raise a spiritually "middle-class" congregation; but if your manner, level and "content" of delivery is "aristocratic," you will raise a spiritually "aristocratic" followership.
I began to understand, by the Spirit, why God brought me forth, physically, through an aristocratic lineage - - so that I may understand things at the loftiest level - - so that I may see Christ at His loftiest manifestation, and minister HIM!
Some minister at the pedestrian level! - - they have their place too; but, all too often, the "pedestrianism" of their ministration is in the 'content' of that ministration; and that's not good enough. There's a lot of wood, hay, and stubble, mixed in with their ministration; so, they can only raise a congregation after "that" kind! For, every pulpit will raise a followership "after its own kind"!
WHAT's THE QUALITY OF YOUR PULPIT?
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