Every ministry or everyone has a calling in the Body of Christ with each part of the Body serving differently (1 Corinthians 12:12-30).
A man of God wrote: “The Church is one body.” Paul said, "We were baptized into one body in a single Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). But this one body has many parts. As Paul said, "If they were all the same part, how could it be a body? As it is, the parts are many but the body is one" (1 Corinthians 12:19). Not everyone can be everything. Often we expect one member of the body to fulfil a task that belongs to others. But the hands cannot be asked to see or the eyes to hear. Together we are Christ's body, each of us with a part to play in the whole (see 1 Corinthians 12:27). Let us be grateful for our limitation but being a real part in the body.
Jesus came as a sacrificial Lamb to save the world and He became obedient till death - even death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Hence, He remained silence and went to the cross to fulfil the will of the Father.
Moses’ calling was to perform all the wonders as a demonstration to convince the Pharaoh that God had called him to set his people free and to lead them out of Egypt. The Lord told Moses in Exodus 4:21, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."
God prepares each one He calls in a different way. In Acts 7:22 "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action." Daniel was in the Babylonian ways and he was even given a name of a Babylonian god and he was chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Daniel 5:11, The Queen told the king, "There is a man in your kingdom that has the spirit of the holy god in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. The Queen told the ruler that King Nebuchadnezzar your father–your father the king, I say–appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners."
A senior pastor of a Mega Church in Singapore humorously told his congregants not to scold or bad mouth him behind his back because of his role as a magician to draw salvation. He shared that the Lord would discipline him if he has sinned against God. As a man of God whom the Lord has ordained for a specific task to bring in salvation, the pastor was just obeying what the Lord has deposited in his heart, just like Noah was given a specific task to build a boat in the middle of a dry land. There was no biblical precedent of a virgin giving birth to a child, yet Mary was willing to obey God to do the task given to her.
Paul an intellectual and learned man of the Law of Moses was called to preach the message of the cross - the message of the cross is the power of the gospel.
John 4:34, "My food,” said Jesus “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."
Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith." When we finally meet our Maker, we alone are accountable to Him and not our critics for the works that He has ordained us during our lives on earth.
Jesus said very clearly in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
Let us not judge or be critical about others if we do not understand the kind of burden God has given and ordained them for the work. We should heed the wisdom of Kathie Walters when she wrote about critics: “Do what God wants you to do and stop judging ministries because you do not know how God works and you are not God.” Or at least heed the advice of Paul when he taught that we should continue to work our salvation with fear and trembling…. (Philippians 2:12).
We all fall short of the glory of God and if we really work out our salvation with fear and trembling, we would be so busy repenting that we don’t really have the time to judge others. This is the secret to our spiritual growth which is God’s heartbeat for His children to grow from glory to glory to the image of Christ. It is through repentance and His sanctification that we can be filled to His fullness as God gives the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).
Hebrews 12:14, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Though the Lord loves sinners, He cannot tolerate sin and though He lives in all believers, the Glory of God which is His manifested presence rests on only a few.
Much as He shows unfailing kindness to his anointed (Psalm 18:50), He will discipline His anointed when the anointed sins against God.
1 Samuel 15:3, the Lord told Saul through Samuel, "Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."
In our present world, isn't killing innocent women, children and infants considered a very serious crime? Saddam Hussein went to the gallows for such genocide committed against his people.
Saul's partial obedience caused him his throne. Saul was punished for his disobedience. The Spirit of God was grieved and left Saul and Saul lost his kingdom to David (1 Samuel 16:14).
God disciplined David for his sins. David has a heart that God loves. The time he suffered greatly was when he began to count his fighting men. Sin of pride came into his life when He put his trust on the strength of the numbers of fighting men instead of God. His evil scheme to take Bathsheba as his wife took two lives but the sin of trusting on the numbers of his fighting men made God very angry and caused 70,000 lives to perish (2 Samuel 24).
We should not judge others just because they do not share the same burden God has called us. The Bible taught us not to judge. James 4:12, "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you–who are you to judge your neighbour? “Hence, let us do what the Lord has ordained us and not be critical by judging other ministries.
We just do what the Lord has ordained us to do. It will be disastrous for a doctor trying to be a lawyer fighting a case in court, so don't expect a person to have the burden of a shepherd if he is not called to be one or a shepherd trying to play the role of a prophet.
Someone wrote the miracles, signs and wonders of God did not die with the prophets of old but more will be manifested in this 21st Century. God has not changed! I believe the church of Jesus Christ hasn’t seen anything yet. The best is yet to come! Supernatural manifestations will take place not only in the form of healing and deliverances, but also in other demonstrations of God’s power and glory we have not yet seen.
Rev Dr Joseph Akintunde shared a timely message from Colossians 1:12 “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Have we asked ourselves are we really partakers of the inheritance of what God has freely given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ? There is a powerful, invisible, supernatural realm that can be reached only through the power of the spirit living and working within us! Within the body of Christ today, God’s mighty power is being manifested in pockets here and there. Miracles are happening today, but not on the scale of what is coming. Great demonstration of His power will bring in the harvest of the nations. The church, as a whole is not currently operating in the unlimited supernatural power God intends us to have. Rev Dr. Joseph Akintunde was in Malacca recently and he preached a message that until and unless the churches come in unity as in Psalms 133, the Lord will not send his anointing to His house as we have been long crying to God for revival in our land.
During fellowship with a pastor Rev Dr Joseph Akintunde shared a Biblical example from Acts 18:24 to 28
24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor[a] and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
Priscilla and Aquila did not keep a distance from Apollos, or spread rumors to discredit Apollos in order to isolate him when he came as an alien in the town to preach the gospel. They did not brand him an occult. Instead, they demonstrated their kingdom's heart, mind, love and grace by inviting Apollos to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately and Apollos was able to reach out and preach to the Jews where they were not able to.
Why should we isolate an alien who come to our town to share the Gospel when they were preaching the Gospel in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ?
A disciple complained to Jesus in Mark 9:38-39 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, Mark 9:40 for whoever is not against us is for us. The teachings found in Acts 18:24-28 can be summarized as such:
1. Room to improve
"Accurate," yes; but incomplete: work of the Spirit in regeneration; commission given by Christ to the church; indwelling of the Holy Spirit, here only John's baptism. It is the person who thinks he cannot improve his understanding who is in greatest danger. Many people know a lot about the Bible, but they don't understand the truth. As long as they hang on to their rote knowledge as substantial, they will fail in the matter of truth.
Truth is essentially the working out of the many doctrines in God's Word. There is a flip side to this when a person can learn doctrines but be deficient in their harmony and application to life.
2. Teachable
He listened attentively! This is one of the greatest needs among Christians: to maintain a teachable spirit.
a. You know you've not arrived.
b. You know that the Lord is ever teaching you through various people and means.
c. You know that it takes time to grapple with truth and to absorb it in life-changing experience.
d. You know that pride can be your biggest obstacle to true understanding.
e. You know that understanding truth is liberating.
f. You know that there is a harmony to God's truth throughout the Scripture.
3. Willing, conscientious teachers
No arrogance on Aquila and Priscilla's part. They had a genuine desire to further God's kingdom and knew that this is not done apart from truth.
a. Discretion in counselling him privately
b. Building on what he already understood
c. Passion for Biblical accuracy
d. A concern for content, the "Way of God"
4. Recognized by the body (v. 27)
a. Helped the brethren v. 27
b. Refuted the sceptical Jews v. 28
5. Bold in ministry (v. 28)
Attention not drawn to him but to Christ!
The Lord indeed has a very special plan for Malacca because this is the place where the gospel first landed 500 years ago. Our lord has been speaking but have we been listening? It is time to come together as one Body, one Spirit and one Mind to build His Kingdom. “God’s divine plan is to prepare the church for the final restoration, to the Glory He pre-ordained for her before Jesus returns”- Rev Dr Joseph Akintunde wrote in his book “Realm of the Spirit.” The church must raise its voice in unity and pray, “Lord we are one, do it again! Pour out Your Spirit! Make known and magnify Your great name and power in this generation and give us this land!
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Pastor's Footnote: Bishop Dr Joseph Akintunde is the spiritual mentor to the co-founders of CKRM Pastor Paul Ang and Pastor Esther Yap. He is the author of the book, "Realm of the Spirit." He is the President and founder of The Weight of His Glory International Ministries. An ordained Evangelist and Teacher of the Word of God, the Lord has mightily used him in bringing salvation, healing, deliverance and restoration of peace and joy to the body of Christ. He is an anointed conference speaker with an apostolic unction and he conducts specialized outreach seminar and conferences in the USA, Europe and Asia. Many who had sat under his teaching testified of undeniable changes in their lives and families.
Pastor Paul Ang's relationship with Bishop Dr Joseph Akintunde goes back to 2004 where he used to conduct seminars in Paul's Penthouse in Singapore. Pastor Paul Ang then was a businessman before before called into fulltime ministry.
