Participants: Hal Steenson (Host)
Series Code: HPOV
Program Code: HPOV000012
00:01 Hello, I'm
00:03 I'd like to welcome you and also invite you 00:04 to join us today on Heaven's Point of View. 00:06 On our previous programs we finished studying the 00:09 9 charisma gifts of the Holy Spirit. 00:11 Those gifts were given to protect the church by moving 00:14 into the authority of the believer. 00:16 On today's program, we'll begin an overview of the 5 doma gifts 00:21 given by Jesus for the perfection of the church. 00:25 These gifts are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, 00:29 and teachers. Today we are starting 00:32 with the gift of the apostle. 00:34 So I encourage you to get your Bibles, follow along with us, 00:39 and we'll take a look at the five-fold ministry gifts 00:43 from Heaven's Point of View. 01:06 You know, many people, laity, ministry, don't realize 01:10 that the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the gifts in the 01:13 Book of Ephesians are actually two completely different types 01:17 of gifts. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are charisma gifts 01:20 while the gifts in Ephesians are doma gifts. 01:24 Now, charisma means 01:37 Now, what that is saying is that this is something that is 01:40 given by the Holy Spirit that you cannot earn and you 01:43 cannot learn this gift. It is given as He so desires. 01:48 Now the second gift that we will be looking at is the doma gift. 02:03 Moreso than what this gift does is what this gift is 02:08 and who you are. Not just what you can do, 02:11 but who you actually are. Now, let's look at our 02:15 foundational scripture for this teaching today. 02:17 Ephesians 4:8-13 says: 02:21 "Whereas he sayeth when He ascended [now get this] 02:24 when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive 02:27 and He gave gifts unto men. " In verse 8 it is clear that the 02:33 gifts given there are given by Jesus not the Holy Spirit. 02:36 He gave these gifts to men, and He gave them at His ascension. 02:41 These ascension gifts had not, HAD NOT 02:46 been in existence at any time before this endowment. 02:50 Please keep in mind that the Old Testament prophet 02:53 and the New Testament prophet came into being from two 02:57 completely different sources. The Old Testament prophets 03:01 were ordained by God - while the New Testament prophet gift 03:05 was given by Jesus at His ascension. 03:09 Now, verse 9 says: "That He ascended, what is it but that He 03:13 also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. 03:17 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above 03:21 all heavens that he might fill all things. " 03:24 Verse 11 key verse: 03:33 Why? For the perfecting of the saints for the work 03:36 of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. 03:40 See, there has been some confusion through the years 03:42 about the statement in verse 9 saying 03:44 "for the work of the ministry. " This is not saying that these 03:48 gifts were given in order to do the work of the ministry. 03:51 A clear understanding can be taken from a literal translation 03:55 of this verse. The Amplified Bible is a literal translation 03:59 with amplification. Ephesians 4:12 says: 04:02 "His intention was the perfecting and the full 04:06 equipping of the saints, His consecrated people, that they 04:11 should do, they should do the work ministering toward building 04:15 up Christ's body - which is the church. 04:18 Another area of confusion is the commonly-taught error 04:21 that the five-fold ministry is no longer valid. 04:25 This is far from the truth! Some of those that teach this 04:28 error proclaim the ministry of the apostle and prophet 04:30 has come to an end. However, this group readily embraces 04:35 the ministry of the pastor, evangelist, and teacher. 04:38 How can that be? There is no scriptural evidence 04:41 of any of these five gifts ceasing at any time. 04:45 This raises yet another question. What are we going 04:48 to do with the first word in verse 13? The word is till, 04:54 or in our language, until. These gifts were given till 04:59 we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge 05:03 of the Son of God unto a perfect or mature man unto the measure 05:09 of the stature of the fullness of Christ. It doesn't take 05:12 a scholar to know that we are not there yet. 05:15 We are on our way, but if we continue to reject the doma 05:19 gifts of Jesus, we will never come to the fullness of Christ. 05:24 These gifts are commonly referred to as the five-fold 05:27 ministry - not the three-fold ministry. 05:31 It will take all of the doma gifts given by Jesus 05:34 to prepare the remnant company of believers. 05:38 The gift of the apostle: let's look at it. 05:42 When Jesus gave these gifts to men, He was actually taking 05:46 what He was in His earthly ministry and breaking it down 05:51 into five parts to be used to equip the church. 05:55 The first and foundational ministry of Jesus was that 05:59 of an apostle. Jesus said: "I will build my church. " 06:04 Hebrews 3:1 confirms the apostolic ministry of Christ. 06:08 "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly 06:11 calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest 06:16 of our profession, Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus. " 06:21 It must be clearly understood that a gift is not earned 06:25 or learned. For this reason, the five-fold ministry gifts 06:29 cannot be earned, cannot be learned. It is of great 06:32 importance to recognize that no one can appoint another person 06:35 into these offices. The Holy Spirit may use the church 06:39 eldership to confirm the call of God on an individual, but they 06:44 cannot decree by laying on of hands or through 06:47 pre-qualification methods determine whether a person has 06:51 one of these five-fold offices. Another important aspect of 06:56 a gift is that it is not inherited from one generation 06:59 to the next. Unlike the Old Testament where God chose 07:03 a family line passing on the covenant from one generation 07:07 to the next. This does not occur in the New Testament. 07:10 In the New Testament, we only inherit from Christ. 07:15 For this reason there are no recorded inheritances 07:19 of anointing from any of the apostles to their children. 07:23 This contrasts with the Old Testament where it is 07:27 meticulously recorded. The genealogies are the spiritual 07:32 inheritance finished with Christ as recorded in the 07:35 Gospel of Matthew. It is clear that there is no Biblical basis 07:40 for church elders anointing their children 07:44 or close relatives to inherit their ministry. 07:47 And we have seen this through the years. 07:49 Molly and I have seen this in the faith ministry and the 07:53 prosperity ministry where the fathers would turn the ministry 07:56 over to the son and call him this and call him that. 07:58 Not so. Church history clearly shows that whenever this occurs, 08:03 the once very successful ministry invariably loses its 08:08 anointing and becomes a dead denomination or church 08:13 after a few generations. Now, let's look at what an 08:16 apostle is. According to God's Word and the Greek explanation, 08:21 apostle, the Greek means or is apostolos, 08:24 is literally one sent forth. 08:28 Apo means from and Stello means to send. 08:33 The word is used of the Lord Jesus to describe His 08:37 relation to God. He was sent from God by God. 08:43 The 12 disciples chosen by the Lord for special training 08:48 were called apostles. Luke 6:13: 08:51 "And when it was day He called unto Him His disciples 08:54 and of them He chose 12 whom also he named apostles. " 08:59 Contrary to popular belief and erroneous teachings, there were 09:04 more apostles in the Bible than just the original twelve. 09:09 Stay with me now, OK? The word apostle has a much 09:13 wider reference. According to scripture, 09:16 according to scripture, there are more than 20 apostles listed 09:21 in the New Testament. Acts 14 refers to Barnabas as well as 09:25 Paul as being apostles. Romans 16:7 calls Adronicus and 09:30 Junias apostles. In 2 Corinthians 8:23 in the 09:35 revised version in the margin two unnamed brethren are 09:38 called apostles of the church. Philippians 2:25 the margin 09:42 Epaphroditus is referred to as your apostle. 09:48 It is used in I Thessalonians 2:6 about 09:51 Paul and Silas and Timothy to define their relationship 09:54 with Christ. An apostle is someone who is commissioned 09:58 of Jesus Christ which means they have an official permission. 10:04 Official permission from Christ to carry out a task. 10:08 This is someone who is called and commissioned by Him to the 10:13 office of an apostle. Supernatural giftings and 10:16 miraculous signs may be present, but we should never judge a man 10:20 or a woman as an apostle just because giftings and 10:24 accomplishments are apparent. Apostles are basically 10:28 God's messengers. They are chosen out of the called. 10:33 They are chosen, they are called and sent 10:36 by the very hand of God. A true apostle will never decide 10:39 to do something because it seemed like a good thing to do. 10:42 They are sent forth to speak or act on behalf of our Lord and 10:47 Savior Jesus Christ, having the authority and the permission 10:51 of the one who sent them. All for carrying out the mission 10:56 God has sent them to fulfill. 10:59 Now, I want to share with you some signs of an apostle. 11:03 A true apostle must profess great leadership ability. 11:08 They must be able to deal with extremely critical problems 11:11 in the state of affairs in which they may find themselves. 11:15 They must have a heart to lead, and they must know the way to 11:19 lead the people of God. They are humble of heart. 11:24 They are servants to the Lord's people 11:27 to be used and sent by God in any manner that God chooses. 11:32 They are not boastful nor will they be full of themselves 11:36 or their own wills. Their will is God's will plain and simple. 11:41 You can see the continuity in Paul's letters where he is 11:45 always reminding those to whom he is writing 11:47 "I am just a servant. " Romans 1:1 says, "Paul, 11:51 a servant of Jesus Christ. " 11:53 Now let's look at some evidences of an apostle. 11:57 The church does not choose or appoint someone for apostleship. 12:01 We have already shared some of this. We do not choose ourselves 12:04 as apostles. Jesus chooses then gives this gift by His own 12:10 hand to the church. An apostle has a great responsibility 12:14 to the church as seen by the commitment required of him. 12:17 The evidence of an apostle of the Lord begins with his 12:20 understanding as to how 12:24 he must care for Christ's church. 12:27 When an apostle clearly considers his obligation 12:30 associated with this gift given by our Lord and Savior 12:34 Jesus Christ, the verification will be that he will be known 12:38 for his commitment to the church. He will live, breathe, 12:44 and die tending to the Lord's church and the Lord's people. 12:50 says: "Even so, ye, forasmuch as you are zealous for spiritual 12:56 gifts, seek that you may excel to the edifying of the church. " 13:01 Now, let's look at how to recognize an apostle. 13:05 How can we recognize an apostle today? Well, it's not by their 13:08 clothes or not by their hairstyle. I believe the Lord 13:11 still gives the gift of the apostle to His church. 13:14 I believe that He is and has been preparing the hearts of His 13:18 people to take on the calling and the office of an apostle. 13:22 And I believe mostly that the church needs the apostle-type of 13:26 leadership today as never before. 13:29 Because of the need for direction, the need for 13:32 correction, and the need for instruction. 13:35 I think the gift of an apostle is not only necessary 13:38 but it is essential in the church of today to bring forth 13:43 the remnant church. We need strong, godly people who are 13:47 unafraid to confront error and issues in the church today. 13:52 There are so many. We need people that will stand 13:54 and confront them. We need those who will teach the 13:57 difference between the clean and the unclean; 13:59 the holy and the profane; and will stand in righteous judgment 14:04 when dealing with any and all controversies in the church. 14:08 We need those who are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. 14:12 We need those who are willing to reach the world with the 14:16 undiluted three angels' messages. We need those that 14:20 are willing to counteract the counterfeit. 14:22 We need apostles that will not play man's political games 14:26 but seek only to be a God pleaser. 14:30 So do you think you might want to be an apostle? 14:33 First, you need to realize that you can't just decide to become 14:36 any one of these five-fold doma gifts. The charisma gifts 14:41 are for everybody but the doma gifts are only appointed 14:43 by Jesus and given by Jesus. This is like some of the judges 14:48 in our judiciary system. That person was not born a judge. 14:53 They were appointed a judge by someone who was of a higher 14:59 authority and had the power and the right to do so. 15:02 The charisma gifts are available to all who will open 15:07 themselves up to them and submit themselves to the leading 15:11 of the Holy Spirit. This is not the case, it's not the case, 15:15 it's not the case with the doma gifts. 15:17 I know you are probably thinking that, well, anyone could be a 15:20 pastor, evangelist, or a teacher. But with the 15:23 coming from and the sending to someone may be holding an office 15:28 but not gifted and graced for the place by Jesus. 15:32 Did you hear that? I hope you are hearing my heart in this. 15:35 We need the true five-fold doma gift ministries in the church 15:40 today not just someone that's decided to do it. 15:44 Now, here's one final word for any who desire this gift. 15:48 It's an observation by the apostle Paul. 15:54 "For I think that God has sent forth us the apostles last [huh] 15:58 as though appointed to death [oh, oh] because we are 16:01 made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 16:05 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; 16:09 we are weak, but you are strong, you are given honor, 16:13 but we are despised. Even in this present hour we hunger and 16:17 thirst, we are naked and are beaten, and we have no certain 16:22 dwelling place... we are weary. >From working with our own hands 16:26 when we are reviled we bless, when persecuted we endure, 16:30 when defamed we speak kindly. We have been made as the filth 16:35 of the world and are the off scouring of all things 16:40 unto this day. " So, you think you might want 16:44 to be an apostle? I think you might want to re-think that. 16:49 Well, next, very quickly, we are going to look at the gift 16:51 of the prophet. The very workings of the office 16:55 of the prophet make it extremely difficult for an individual 16:58 to build a substantial ministry without a genuine gifting 17:02 in prophecy at the very least. The Word of God warns, however, 17:06 that false prophets will also be operating, so prophesying alone 17:10 cannot guarantee that one is genuine. It is also possible 17:16 those who operate in the gift of prophecy to claim 17:19 to be prophets either because they do not understand the true 17:23 nature of the New Testament prophet or they are being 17:26 motivated by a selfish agenda. The scriptures - both Old and 17:31 New Testament - clearly demonstrate that God 17:33 by His Spirit makes a call on individuals and appoints them. 17:38 In the New Testament, Jesus, JESUS, gives the five-fold 17:42 ministry gifts and then the Holy Spirit sends them out 17:45 to fulfill their ministry and to confirm their anointing. 17:49 This principle is true for the five-fold offices even though 17:52 the vast majority of church leadership have achieved their 17:56 offices through other means. As the prophetic ministry is 18:02 restored to the true status in the local church as an office 18:06 in its own right, there will obviously be many who will make 18:10 claims to being called to that office. 18:13 Let's look at our foundational scripture once again. 18:17 Ephesians 4:11 says: "And He gave some apostles and some 18:20 prophets. " This was Jesus that did this. "And some 18:23 evangelists, and some pastors, and teachers. " 18:25 Once again, when Jesus gave these gifts to men, 18:27 He gave what He was while He was here on this earth. 18:31 This doma gift of a prophet which was given by Jesus 18:35 is not interconnected to God's Old Testament prophets. 18:41 says: "And the multitude said, this is Jesus the prophet 18:45 of Nazareth of Galilee. " 18:49 says: "And He said unto them, What things? And they said 18:52 unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet 18:56 mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. " 19:00 The Greek word for prophets - prophetes - 19:06 means a fore teller. 19:09 One who tells or can tell of events before they happen. 19:13 It also means a prophet by analogy, an inspired speaker, 19:17 one who is inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak the mind of God 19:20 and reveal and make clear the very heart of God. 19:26 Now, before we really get into the study 19:29 of the gift of the prophet, 19:30 we need to look at three distinct areas of the prophetic. 19:34 First, there is the gift of the prophet - which is 19:39 the office or the calling of a prophet. 19:41 It, like the apostle, is a gift accompanied by a special 19:46 anointing for it. Without that special anointing it is nothing. 19:51 The anointing comes from the Lord with His hand of blessing 19:54 giving them spiritual favor. This is often referred to 19:57 as the office of a prophet. However, it is more of a 20:02 character, grace gift, than an office. 20:07 Jesus will grace you for the place. 20:09 Secondly, there is a prophetic flow brought on by a spiritual 20:14 awareness within the body of Christ or a body of believers 20:18 who are gathered together and not limited to a certain 20:20 individual. This I will call the spirit of prophecy. 20:26 I think you understand this. This area of the prophetic 20:30 will most likely seem unusual to anyone who hasn't 20:34 been around the arena of the prophetic. 20:37 Now, thirdly there is the gift of prophecy. 20:40 It is mentioned by Paul in I Corinthians. We looked at 20:43 this charisma gift at length earlier in this series. 20:46 Now, let's rehearse this one more time. 20:49 There is the: 20:57 Now, let's look at the office of the prophet. 21:00 As we discussed in the gift of the apostles, the same is true 21:04 with the prophet. The appointment of the prophet 21:08 must be place upon the chosen prophet by someone greater than 21:11 himself or herself. This will have to be, guess who, Jesus 21:16 Christ, because He was the one who gave the gifts unto men. 21:39 You know, we as Seventh-day Adventists should be open and 21:42 receptive to the ministry of the prophet and prophetess. 21:45 Why should we live without prophetic guidance, direction, 21:49 and even correction. These are all things which the 21:52 Old Testament believers had under the leadership of the 21:55 prophets, and we today should not be without these blessings 21:58 and benefits. This is why some of the 12 apostles spoke so 22:02 strongly of the place and work of a prophet. 22:05 What is true of the male prophet is no less true of the 22:10 female prophet. Her role was not that of head 22:13 but of messenger. The Bible sees the prophetess in a 22:17 supportive and complementary role which does not negate 22:21 male headship. Paul clarifies this point in 22:24 I Corinthians 11 verse 2 through 16 22:27 where he defends the right of women to pray and prophesy 22:30 in church because the gifts of the Spirit are given 22:33 to the church without regard to gender differences. 22:36 However, we note that Paul opposes the behavior of those 22:41 women who disregard their subordinate position by praying 22:44 and giving prophetic exhortation to the congregation 22:48 with their heads uncovered like the men. 22:52 Paul just naturally accepted the fact that there would be 22:55 prophets in the church, and all those he taught seemed to 22:58 accept the same. Paul's main concern was instructional. 23:03 Instructional! We also see this in the writings of 23:06 Ellen G. White. Powerful! Here is one such instruction 23:11 from the Review and the Herald: 23:34 Review and Herald, July 19, 1906, paragraph 12. 23:38 Hey, this has just been a blessing to me. 23:41 I hope it has to you. Don't go away; we are 23:43 going to take a short break and we'll be right back. 23:46 If you've been confused about what the Bible says 23:49 about the Holy Spirit's amazing gifts for the church, 23:51 you'll want to order your very own copy of this 13-part series. 23:55 It's available on DVD or video cassette from 3ABN 23:59 at a very special price. This 13-part series 24:02 with Pastor Hal Steenson makes a wonderful gift for a friend 24:05 or a family member. Just call us at: 24:11 and we'll be happy to take your order. 24:12 You may also order it online at: 24:18 again, the phone number is: 24:32 Remember at the first part of today's program we saw that the 24:35 doma gift lends greater strength to the concrete character 24:39 of the gift than to it's beneficent nature? 24:42 The concrete character required of the prophet - they are 24:46 sent or set apart totally to the Lord for the ministry 24:51 of building God's kingdom and preparing the church for the 24:54 return of the Savior. They are love motivated. They have an 24:58 intercessory heart. They are not motivated by fame through 25:02 the ministry. They are not motivated by fortune 25:05 through the ministry. They are not motivated by the power 25:08 of influence that can be achieved through the ministry. 25:12 This is the test of a true prophet. 25:15 We today need the same instruction and guidance, 25:18 but before we can expect the prophetic to flow with strength 25:22 and with edifying results in our churches and gatherings, 25:25 we must understand and accept the doma gifts of Jesus 25:30 as being vital in this present age. Without the gift of the 25:35 prophetic insight and wisdom, we will not have an important 25:39 part of the spiritual gifts that God has so graciously given 25:43 to the church. Instead, we'll have confusion and disunity 25:47 in the body of Christ. 25:50 I'm amazed at what happens so much of the time 25:56 in today's Christian world. 25:58 People that like to call themselves certain things 26:04 and proclaim to be in an office that they are obviously not in. 26:09 I got a card the other day from a minister 26:13 different faith, different denomination. 26:16 I won't call his name, but let me give you just a little 26:20 summary of what he said. Elder John Smith, apostle, 26:26 prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. 26:29 I've heard it said before that you can take a cow into the 26:35 courtroom and the judge can rule that it's a horse, 26:37 but when you get it outside it's still a cow. 26:41 You see, we are not something because of what we say we are. 26:45 We are something because what Jesus has given us 26:49 in the grace gift, to be grace for the place 26:52 and then those around us should recognize it. 26:55 If you are any of these five-fold ministries, 26:58 you should never have to tell somebody what you are. 27:01 They should be telling you what you are. 27:06 And then you need to be moving in it. Moving in that gift 27:11 by the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle should be one that 27:14 would build and establish. The prophet should be one 27:17 that would speak for correction, for instruction. 27:20 The evangelist should be one that would catch the fish, 27:24 and the pastor would be one that would clean the fish. 27:27 The evangelist would be one that would go out and preach 27:31 the Word of God, the pastor would be one that would embrace 27:34 the sheep and pull them to his breast, and the teacher would be 27:38 one that would instruct the saints of God how to live 27:41 godly in Christ Jesus. See, what we need to do 27:45 is we just need to relax and let God begin to speak to us. 27:48 I believe that if we do, we might soon see some real 27:51 doma gift ministries to come on the scenes in these last days. 27:56 And now that we know what they are, and we are learning how 28:00 they operate, then maybe by the grace of God we'll be more open 28:04 and receptive to allowing them to work in our hearts, 28:08 in our lives, and in our churches. 28:31 On our next Heaven's Point of View program, we will be 28:33 studying the office of the evangelist, pastor, and teacher. 28:38 Doma gifts, given by Jesus, for the perfection of the church. 28:42 So check your 3ABN World, and we'll see you there. |
Revised 2014-12-17