Heralds Digest

  “ But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20 : 24 NKJV The distinction between ministration and manipulation appears to be the differentiation of “who is moving?” from “what is being moved?”. When moveable men initiate movements, those who are moved by the immovable God are rather focussed on His mighty ministry and need no alarm. And like Elisha of old told the series of rudderless sons of the prophets “ Yes, I know; keep silent! ”, Apostle Paul’s “ But none of these things move me“ response to manipulating movements is inspiring. Just like Elisha focussed on the mighty ministry ahead of him and got the double portion of the auction to function in the room of Elijah, believers today can equally follow the footsteps of those who were determined to finish their race with joy, and the ministry which th...

  “ All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.” Proverbs 16 : 2 - 3 NKJV “ All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes” implies that ideas do not necessarily suggest purpose. In the actual fact, the human heads are full of purposeless plans, and guided with selfishness, arrogance, and all forms of unrighteousness. When king Ahab responded to king Jehoshaphat’s suggestion to consult the prophet of the Lord about his plan with  “ There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil ( I Kings 22 : 8 )”, the danger of purposeless plan was exposed. King Ahab eventually died in the battle for his arrogant failure to heed the lone caution against the purposeless plan. Generally, while purposeless plans are focussed on the accumulation of laurels, breaking of new ...

  “ Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city. ”” Acts 18 : 9 - 10   There is no doubt that the torment in fear hinders many people from divine accomplishments; and the hindrances are strategically orchestrated by the enemy against the purpose of God. Thankfully, Paul paid no attention to the harmless hostility from the demonic agents in obedience to the divine counsel “ I have many people in this city ”. When God says “ Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city ”, it implies that this declaration becomes greater than the greatest grandstanding, wiser than the wisest wickedness, mightier than the mightiest manipulation, and higher than the highest hostility. And just like Paul tarried in Corinth to disciple many p...

  “ They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths, The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. ” Psalms 78 : 30 - 31 NKJV Right from the Old Testament, the futility of human craving for sign and wonders in believers’ relationship with God has been fully established. Unfortunately, the carnal nature and fleshly appeals remain the satisfaction of human needs and the goods in the heads, rather than the pursuit of godliness for the hearts. For example, not until fire was brought down from heaven to consume the sacrifice on the repaired altar, the people cannot respond to Elijah’s invitation to identify the true God. It implies that the cravings in human heart apparently respond to the carnal flow of goods from God. Whereas, Elijah operated with critical conviction on the manifestations of God, even before the fire came down: he mocked the prophets of baals and gathered the peop...

  “ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” Acts 17 : 16 NKJV The primary purpose of worldliness is the breeding of settled spirits; but those who must pursue godliness are rather stirred up than get settled down. Either by getting provoked by the Holy Spirit or by getting persecuted by the evil spirit through envy, the penalty for godliness is well laid out. For example, apostle Paul had just narrowly escaped persecution from unbelievers in Berea; but he immediately got arrested by the Holy Spirit on arrival in Athens. It implies that godliness is only possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit in the life, ministry and affairs of true believers, with evident manifestations including (1) conviction against worldliness; (2) confession of waywardness; (3) conversion into watchfulness; (4) consecration for winsomeness; and (5) conservation against wastefulness. When a soul is consistently stirred...

  “ This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. ”  Acts 16 : 17 - 18 NKJV Without the help of the Holy Spirit like with Paul, no one can escape the unrighteous followership of the girl with the spirit of divination. Unfortunately, our religious houses and assemblies are filled with unrighteous followership of “ These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation ”-plated prophets, praise-worshipers, pastors and prayer warriors. Obviously, the minds of people who are moved by emotions and appealed by recommendations or rewards are easily manipulated by deceits and unrighteousness. But Paul, greatly annoyed by the unrighteous followership rebuked the evil ...

  “ That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God. ” Psalms 78 : 6 - 8 NKJV It is often said that true success in life and ministry is not measured by the metrics of a leader’s present performances, but by the treatment of the mantle left behind to others. And in our era of social media and advances in the digital age, the burden in this definition of true success for father-Christmas fathers is astronomical. Unlike in the old days of stubborn and rebellious fathers, the burden of godly parenting, Christian discipleship, and professional mentorship are now compounded by three-dimensional space distractions, disobedience by children, discip...