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The Apostolic and Prophetic Foundation
Moses obtained clear instructions from God on how he was to construct the Tabernacle. When he came down from his meeting with the Lord on the mountain, he gathered the people together and related His word to them.
Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze....
(Ex. 35:5)
Notice, he did not try to coerce the people into involvement with the vision. He made it clear that this house would be built out of willing hearts.
In the same way, Christianity is a free-will offering. All service and giving unto the Lord is to come as an act of worship, not as a result of the manipulations of men who are endeavoring to build something for God. When the Lord builds His house, He stirs up the hearts of His people into sacrificial giving. Notice how God backed up what He had said to Moses on the mountain.
Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.
Often, it is difficult to wait for the Lord to arise with zeal in the hearts of His people. Leaders must be very careful in this regard. Our tendency is to get impatient with the flock and then speak out of frustration. If God has sent us into a particular situation, then He will arise to fulfill what He has purposed to do. We do not have to defend ourselves nor fulfill His vision in our own strength. God is at work! We must believe in Him.
Not only did God stir up the people to give, He raised up specific men to help in the building process.
And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, ...and He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.”
(Ex. 35:30 - 31, 34)
Today the Lord raises up overseers to teach and assist the saints in finding their unique place of service in God’s house. While it is important that these men articulate the principles of Kingdom life found in the Scriptures, there must be more than this. There must be the impartation of God’s wisdom through their lives and ministries. The whole Church must be filled with the wisdom of God. This is key to building God’s house.
Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.
At issue is not the great amount of needs both inside as well as outside of God’s house. No one argues the fact that there must come change both in the Church and in the world. Souls must be saved, marriages must be restored, bodies must be healed, etc. The amount of need before us is staggering. At issue is what is to be our response?
Do we simply try and meet whatever needs are in front of us? It’s easy to burn out doing this. Jesus lived thirty years before doing even one miracle. Obviously, the need of man was not the primary motivating force in His life; His Father’s will was.
Jesus did nothing of Himself. He only did what He saw the Father doing and He did it in the same manner (Jn. 5:19). Similarly, we must come to grips with accomplishing the Father’s will on the earth. While it is clear that we cannot be callous to the suffering of people around us, our objective is the establishing of God’s perfect response to the painful cries of men. Jesus was God’s perfect answer two thousand years ago; He remains so today. Only now, Jesus is revealed in corporate expressions of His life, not just in one individual. The Body of Christ must arise in all its diversity of function.
And Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan (lit. man wise of heart) in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded.
(Ex. 36:1)
We must see more than the need of man and the principles of Scripture. We must be filled with the wisdom of God. His wisdom brings with it the insight on how we are to respond to present need (both in the Church and outside of it). As each individual is confronted by both the specific deficiencies before them and God’s insight on how to meet them, something amazing begins to occur.
Then Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work.
(Ex. 36:2)
When the people received insight on how God wanted to accomplish certain aspects of the construction, they were stirred to action by His Spirit. Often today, when believers see deficiencies in the local church, the tendency is to “dump it” on the man (men) in “full time” ministry. “We need more involvement by the parents in the Sunday school.” “We need to reach out to the youth of our city.” “We need more evangelism.” “We need more intercession.”
As long as the assembly continues to burden a few with what is to be done by the many, we will continue to have burnout among the few! The Body simply will not emerge in such circumstances. Men are not put into “fulltime” ministry to meet the pressing needs of the saints and the world.
If need dictates a man’s decision to leave “secular” employment, it will dominate his whole ministry. And he will burn out. There is only one reason why a man is released into financial support by his local church. It must be Father’s will for him. Otherwise, need will direct his path and he will actually be a hindrance to the emerging of the Body of Christ (The tendency is to try and be the whole Body yourself!).
The Lord allows His people to see present need not so they can then put the burden of what they see on the leaders. Rather, they are to cry out to God for wisdom on how they are to respond to what He has shown them. Of course, as they do this, it would be wise to look to the overseers for input in the decision-making process.
God has a multi-faceted response to the needs of His universe; it is the Church of Jesus Christ. He deposits a facet of His wisdom in each of His people and then stirs us to action in response to Him. Creation waits for God’s sons to arise in His wisdom. The planet will not be satisfied with the revelation of a new method of church growth. Here is a very clear distinction: men make methods, God gives wisdom.
Our Lord has a statement to make to all rulers and authorities in heaven and on earth. That statement is too big for any individual to articulate. It requires a response from every one of us.
to the intent that now the manifold (or multi-faceted) wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The eternal purpose of God is to reveal His wisdom through His people not only to the world but to the powers in the heavens. He has something to say into which angels are seeking to gain insight (1 Pet. 1:12).
Apart from the Body of Christ arising in the wisdom of God, there simply will not be the impact in our spiritual warfare that so many today seek. The key to shaking the heavens is not simply that we see the emerging of apostles and prophets in the Church. Rather, it is that we see the people of God arise in His wisdom! Wise apostles and prophets will recognize this burden on God’s heart and will give their lives to see it come to pass.
Lord, pour out Your Spirit of wisdom upon us and stir us into action that You might be revealed in all the earth. Reveal Your plan not only upon the earth but into the heavens as well. Lord Jesus, bring down all that can be shaken in the heavenly realms and bring this age to an end. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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