5 Smooth Stones

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Copyright© 2024 Lloyd C. Phillips Published by BT Johnson Publishing P.O. Box 100 Ba tt le Ground, Washington 98604 www.BTJohnsonPublishing.com

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture citations are taken from The New American Standard Bible, ©1960 by the Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Other Scripture quotations are taken from The Ampli fi ed Bible, ©1965 by Zondervan Publishing House and the Lockman Foundation; the King James Version; The Living Bible, ©1971 by Tyndale House Publishers; the New International Version, ©1978 by the International Bible Society; The New English Bible, ©1970 by the Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press; Good News Bible: The Bible in Today's English Version, ©1976 by the American Bible Society; The New Testament in Modern English, J.B. Phillips, ©1972 by J. B. Phillips; the Revised Standard Version Bible, ©1946 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. It is illegal and a violation of Christian ethics to reproduce any parts or diagrams in any copyrighted book without wri tt en permission of the author or publishers.

ISBN 978-1-938311- All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America

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“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Then the Lord answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.” ~Habakkuk 2:2-3

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter # Introduction..........................................................................................................7 1. Five Smooth Stones..........................................................................................9 2. Present Day Ministry Gifts...........................................................................15 3. Calling and Commissioning.........................................................................21 4. Character Comes First...................................................................................27 5. Understanding The Shepherd’s Gift...........................................................31 6. Servant Leaders..............................................................................................39 7. Biblical Eldership...........................................................................................43 8. Balance Between Ministries..........................................................................47 9. What Makes Church......................................................................................51 10. Know Your Company..................................................................................59 11. Apostles Establish, Prophets Con fi rm, Teachers Strengthen.................65 12. The Seal of Apostleship – Planting Churches?........................................71 13. Prophets, Seers and Builders......................................................................75 14. Perfecting the Prophetic Ministry..............................................................81 15. Old Testament and New Testament Prophets.........................................87 16. Purposes of Prophetic Ministry – Direction, Protection, and Correction....................................................................................................91 17. Apostles and Prophets Teaming Together...............................................99 18. The Gift of Evangelist................................................................................109 19. Evangelists and Apostles..........................................................................117 20. Apostolic Teams.........................................................................................123 21. False Leadership, True Love....................................................................129 22. Pitfalls and Polishing................................................................................133 23. Balaam – Beware the Glory, the Gold, and Girls...................................141 24. Jezebel – Fear, Discouragement and Control.........................................149 25. Absalom – A Betrayal of Trust................................................................159 26. Diotrephes – The Spirit that requires Preeminence.............................167 27. Diotrephes – False Leadership / Cold Love...........................................173 28. Diotrephes – Diotrephes and the Nicolaitan..........................................179 29. Sound Judgment Produces Justice..........................................................185 30. Judging Ma tt ers..........................................................................................191 31. Called from Birth.......................................................................................201 32. The Polished Shaft.....................................................................................211 Appendix A Government Structures............................................................215 Appendix B Twelve Expressions of Inspiration..........................................217 Appendix C Prophetic Etique tt e....................................................................220 4

INTRODUCTION

God made the stones and placed them in the brook where they tumbled for eons becoming smooth before David pulled out fi ve. He used one of those to kill the giant. Likewise Jesus ascended up on high and sat down at the right hand of God, and, as the head of the church, He has given fi ve gifts to mankind: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. Five stones in His Shepherd’s bag to be used for equipping His church to accomplish the work He is doing on the earth today. Like David, Jesus came with an assignment to destroy the works of the enemies of God. The early church understood that the fi ve ministry gifts were necessary to accomplishing His work on earth, but over time these gifts were replaced by positions of human creation. Today these gifts are being restored to the church in the fullness of their calling. There are challenges in restoring the gifts He has given, in understanding them and how they apply in our day and time. The gifts are freely given, and the calling is divinely conferred, but preparation is an important part of the process, as well as learning how to receive the gifts and their appointment. The Lord’s purpose is that all believers come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God; that they mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ, not as children, tossed about with every wind of doctrine, but grow up in all things unto Him who is the head, Christ. Through a thorough understanding of scripture, with the leading of the Holy Spirit who wrote it, details will be uncovered so that the gems hidden for us in regard to the fi ve gift ministries will be exposed. This study will explain how we can understand, grow in, and receive the ascension gifts and all the bene fi ts that come through receiving and understanding them.

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Chapter One

FIVE SMOOTH STONES

F ive stones in the shepherd’s bag to alter events; one perfect stone to change history. Today the Christian church fi nds itself doing ba tt le with giants of evil in forms which would not have been comprehensible a few generations ago. But, for all the forms and fashions of evil that challenge the church, God is able to help us overcome every single obstacle placed before us as obstructions to expanding His kingdom upon the earth. Jesus said that if He built His church, all the authority of evil would not prevail against His building (Ma tt hew 16:18). Many years ago, as a type of the ministry of the ascended Christ today, young David found that the armies of God were in a dilemma on how to do ba tt le with their enemies, because of one giant of evil who stood in de fi ance of them. He found the way through faith in God to overcome this giant. Much like the ba tt les needing to be fought today, the ascended Christ has devised a means for His saints to defeat the giants who stand in the way of His plans. Prior to the ba tt le, young David had been called of God and anointed by the prophet Samuel according to what God saw in David’s heart. Interestingly, when David was anointed as King by Samuel, he did not presume to take the position of King immediately. For one thing, there currently was a King, Saul. David submi tt ed to the timing of God by simply going back to what he was doing when he received his calling, he continued watching his father’s sheep. But something was di ff erent with young David as he went back to shepherd the sheep, because he went back with an anointing. With his new anointing David, the shepherd, began to walk in the greater grace which had been given to him. He did not presume to become the King over all Israel as was prophesied, but as a shepherd he began to practice being king for the sheep over which he had oversight. He began to increase in faith, accomplishing things which normal shepherd boys were not accustomed to accomplishing. Through his “kingly” anointing, he began to rise to threats and challenges and killed both a lion and bear. Now lion and bear killing is above and beyond the scope and ability of most young shepherd boys. Chasing away a threat when possible, 6

and running for help when not possible, was considered well within the scope of what any young shepherd could be expected to do. But David was anointed to do more and he used that ability and “caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.” (1 Samuel 17:35). So when the need was great for a champion to confront the Philistine, David rose to the opportunity and, through the anointing, confronted the new giant. David did not use the armaments and weapons which others had used, although they had worked well. David himself would also use similar weapons later in his career, but on the day he confronted the giant Goliath, he wisely relied upon the anointing to act, and the tools with which he was familiar. David went to the stream and chose fi ve smooth stones. 1 Samuel 17:40 “Then he took his sta ff in his hand; and he chose for himself fi ve smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.” This is symbolic of the present day ministry of the ascended Christ. After spoiling principalities and powers, through His resurrection, the Lord Jesus ascended into the heavenly realm and sat down in the seat of power and authority. After doing so he began His reign over His church, and expansion of His Kingdom by giving gifts unto men. Ephesians 4:8 “Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plo tt ing.” The Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has in His shepherd’s bag an assortment of fi ve smooth stones, which He has chosen to use as weapons against the giants of evil. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers all have a place in the Lord’s armory. Each with di ff ering qualities and strengths used in His timing, and by His placement to bring down spiritual strongmen in the enemy’s camp. Why did David choose fi ve stones when there was only one giant? In order to answer this question, recall that David was a man after God’s 7

own heart, and therefore many of the desires of his heart were the desires of God’s heart. 1 John 3:8 tells us that the Son of God came with the purpose of destroying all the works of the devil. Likewise, when David went toward the giant in the ba tt le, his determination was such to even go past the giant and kill other giants. Goliath, we are told, had four relatives, and, it may be symbolic, but David had fi ve smooth stones to kill fi ve enemy giants.

2 Samuel 21:22 “These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the

hand of David and by the hand of his servants.”

It is interesting that although David may have had the heart to go after all of the giants, in reality he only personally killed the fi rst one of them. The rest were all killed by his trained servants 1 , his spiritual progeny. He understood that as a true leader he must have not only the a tt itude to win the ba tt le, but the war. And if he was to win the war he must raise up others and win through their triumphs as well as his own.

This generational thinking was seen in the ministry of the prophet

Elijah who was given certain mandates from the Lord.

1 Kings 19:15 “Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 "Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 "It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.” Now the scripture only records that Elijah actually carried out the ordination of one of these, Elisha. Because of this some people come to the incorrect conclusion that Elijah did not ful fi l his ministry, or that he was in some way disobedient to God. We need to understand that the spirit of Elijah was a spirit of spiritual fatherhood, and was able to accomplish the will of the Lord by acting generationally. Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers.” There is an old saying that you can accomplish almost anything as long as you are not concerned about who gets the credit. Elijah wanted to see that the will of the Lord was accomplished, both in whom he was to anoint as king and prophet, but also in raising up sons as a father. Elijah had the spirit of fatherhood with a heart towards turning fathers and sons 8

towards one another, to the extent that the Lord said he would duplicate this spirit before His arrival (Malachi 4:5, 6). Certainly the Lord would not duplicate the spirit of failure or of disobedience. Elijah combined the directives to ordain as well as his vision to raise up sons generationally. In doing so he multiplied his authority through others and accomplished both mandates that he had been assigned. When the scripture speaks of the spirit of Elijah, it is speaking of a spirit of spiritual fatherhood, a spirit to raise up others who can do even more than the father was able to in his time. Therefore, Elijah did ful fi l the ministry given to him by God to anoint Elisha, Hazael, and Jehu into their respective callings. Elijah actually only anointed Elisha, but Elisha, his spiritual son, continued the ministry and in turn commissioned Hazael to be King over Syria (2 Kings 8:13). Elisha in turn sent one of his spiritual sons to anoint Jehu as King over Israel (2 Kings 9:1-3). So when David took fi ve smooth stones from the brook he had the heart to complete the job of killing the giant enemies of the Lord. He ful fi lled what he intended by multiplying himself through others, and ul fi lling his desires through spiritual sons who would continue the fi ght, and carry the vision that he held. The Lord Himself is continuing the ba tt le today through His people, the church, through His fi ve smooth stones the ascension ministries 2 . Ephesians 3:10 “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” His fi ve smooth stones of ministry are today called to perfect the saints and equip them to carry out the ba tt le plan of the Lord. Like David, and Elijah, He expects them to raise up others, spiritual sons and daughters, who will be able to show forth His manifold wisdom and authority. Like David’s fi ve smooth stones the Lord’s stones are not exactly alike and there are fi ve for a reason. Five is the number that signi fi es His grace and each of these gifts is called for a di ff erent purpose. He has apostles and prophets, and shepherds, and evangelists, and teachers, so that He can use the proper stone at the proper time to take down the speci fi c enemy stronghold which is set against His purposes. He uses each of the fi ve to release or manifest a di ff erent aspect of His divine nature on earth. Too often in the church we have been limited to one or two or perhaps three of the Lord’s ministry stones. This has been a major reason that the church has not always been able to retain 9

the victories which we have received over the enemy of our God, and have so often had to retake spiritual ground which was once delivered to us by the Lord and held by the church. By understanding that we need all the fi ve ministries that the Lord has given, and also an a tt itude of generational thinking, we will regain and retain the victories which the Lord grants to us, and show His wisdom now, even in the heavenly places. 2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” In reality there are some a tt ributes of each of these callings in just about every Christian. We all have the Spirit of Christ which is the source of all ministry. We can all learn a lot about our own selves and our abilities in Christ by learning about the fi ve stones. By understanding more clearly the function of the fi ve stones of the ascended Christ’s shepherd’s bag and how they best raise up the saints for the works of service in the Kingdom, we will indeed be able to have the results of functioning ministry which is something we should all wish to achieve. This is a mature church which produces spiritual fruit which remains. ENDNOTES: 1 2 Samuel 21:15 “When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16 Then Ishbi Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred she kels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to ba tt le, lest you quench the lamp of Israel." 18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a ba tt le with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gi tt ite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fi ngers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant. 21 So when he de fi ed Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. NKJV. These were all Giants and sons of the Giant. Three of them were sons of the Goliath and one was his brother “brother of Goliath the Gi tt ite” 2 Samuel 21:18. Often people simplify this to “four sons.” 2 While Jesus was on earth He ordained twelve apostles. After Judas’ death the eleven sought the Lord and accepted Ma tt hias as his replacement (Acts 1:26). Together these twelve are called the Apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14). These twelve are unique and there will never be another Apostle of the Lamb added as these are foundational to all ascension ministries and the foundations of the New Jerusalem bear their names. Once Jesus ascended on high and sat down on the right hand of God He continued His ministry by calling others into the fi ve gift ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. None of these were ordained before His ascension, and they may properly be called ascension gifts or ascension ministries because they were called and ordained after His ascension into heaven. Ephesians 4:7 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, 10

and gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"—what does it mean but that He also fi rst descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fi ll all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

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Chapter Two

FPRESENT DAY MINISTRY GIFTS

L et us look at the present day availability of all of the fi ve ascension ministries listed in scripture. According to scripture these are apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. There are other ministries, or means of service, such as giving, benevolence, music ministry, healing and many others. But there are only fi ve listed as ascension gift ministries. They are also often called governmental gifts or fi ve-fold gifts. They di ff er from other gifts in a number of ways, with perhaps the main di ff erence being that there are gifts a person may have, while these ascension gifts are gifts that one becomes. As an example, one may have a gift of prophecy, and that should be desired and sought after (1 Corinthians 14:1). However, every individual who has a special ability to bring forth a prophetic messages is not necessarily called to be a prophet. One who is called to the prophetic o ffi ce, or ascension ministry, is one whose life has been given as a gift to the church, called as a prophet. The same would be true for the teaching ministry. There are many who may teach. The scriptures even require the basic ability to teach as a prerequisite for an overseer in the church (1 Timothy 3:2, 2 Timothy 2:24). Yet to be able to teach does not automatically make a person an ascension gift of a teacher. A gift of teacher would be one who has had his life given to serve the church as a teacher by the Lord, and so it would be with the other ascension ministries. There are still some who are not convinced that the Lord is presently calling men and women into these gifts today. It is important to be convinced that the Lord is still doing the same things today that He did in the past or we will, at the least, miss the blessings that He intends for us. And at the worst will not be able to carry out His will upon earth. He is the Lord, and He does not change what He did do, He still does (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8).

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Almost everyone is familiar with the twelve apostles whom Jesus called when He was upon earth. These twelve were chosen from among the disciples who were following Jesus. The scripture tells us that the Lord went o ff to a solitary place to pray and when He returned He chose twelve to be apostles. Luke 6:12 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.” These twelve were with Him for His entire earthly ministry. One of these, Judas, betrayed Him and was replaced by Ma tt hias 3 . Between the ascension of Jesus and the day of Pentecost Ma tt hias was chosen to replace Judas. The requirements given for Judas’ replacement are given in scripture. Acts 1:22 "Beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." Therefore, Ma tt hias was to have been with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry at the baptism in the Jordan by John, all the way to the resurrection, and also be chosen by the Spirit of the Lord. It is evident that there are none alive today that could ever again ful fi ll the requirements to have been on earth with the Lord from His baptism to ascension. Now some mistakenly believe that these twelve were the only apostles 4 . But this is not the case. These twelve certainly were, and are, special and are granted a unique place both in history and in heaven. They are called the Apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14) and the Lord said that they would sit on twelve thrones and judge the nation of Israel (Ma tt hew 9:28). There will never be another Apostle of the Lamb. But the Lord did call others to be apostles after these. Most everyone recognizes that the man who formerly persecuted the church who was converted miraculously on his way to Damascus by the name of Paul was also an apostle. It has even been suggested in some circles that the apostle Paul really was called to be the twelfth apostle, not Ma tt hias. This, of course, could not be true, because Paul did not meet the criteria for being one of the Apostles of the Lamb. He was not present at the baptism of Jesus or at His ascension nor was he identi fi ed by the Spirit to replace Judas. But called to be an apostle he was (Romans 1:1). Paul was not the only other New Testament apostle ordained after the ascension of Christ and day of Pentecost, nor was he the last. There was Barnabas (Acts 14:14) 13

who was called out as an apostle and sent at the same time as Paul. Silas and Timothy were spiritual sons of the apostle Paul. The book of 1 Thessalonians was wri tt en by Paul, Silvanus, (Silas) and Timothy, (1 Thessalonians 1:1) In chapter 2:6,7 they are all identi fi ed as apostles sent to the church in Thessalonica. James the Lord’s brother is also identi fi ed as an apostle, and one who witnessed the resurrected Christ (Galatians. 1:19, 1 Corinthians 15:7). Apollos is another post ascension apostle identi fi ed by Paul the apostle (1 Corinthians 4:6, 8, 9). Andronicus and Junias, are identi fi ed as apostles in Romans 16:7. It may be that in listing them together in such a fashion that Paul is communicating that they are a married couple who are apostles. Whether this be so or not, it is clear that both of them are called apostles. In Philippians 2:25 Epaphroditus is called the messenger to the church in Philippi. Although most translations use the English word messenger to refer to Epaphroditus, the Greek word is apostolos which is translated properly as the English word apostle. It is correctly translated in some versions including the Young’s Literal Translation and the Ampli fi ed Bible. In 2 Corinthians 8:23 Paul refers to at least two other apostles listed again with the English word messenger from the Greek word apostolos. Including Judas, this identi fi es a minimum of twenty-six New Testament apostles. The apostolic ministry is being used strictly as an example here, but the same could be done for the other four miniseries. Why is this so important for us to know? Because by failing to understand this key concept many have missed an important aspect of the Lord’s nature and plan for building His Kingdom. Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the goverment will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end.” The scripture says that of the increase of His government there would be no end. If He were not still calling men and women into the fi ve ministry gifts today, then His government would not be increasing but would be decreasing, and it would signify that the Lord Himself had changed, which is an impossibility. Jesus Himself said that He was going to send other fi vefold ministries. Luke 11:49 "Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles..”

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He could not have been speaking of a time while He was still on the earth, because He never ful fi lled that, He did not ordain any ministries while He was upon the earth except apostles. But He was saying that after He ascended that He was going to commission and send more gift ministers from His throne in heaven. Ephesians 4:10 “... the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fi ll all things. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” Since the early centuries after Christ ascended, heresies have crept into the church including the idea that the ascension gifts passed away with the passing of the fi rst century ministers. This false teaching has promoted that the gifts of God from heaven were replaced by positions of bishops, priests, kings, and administrators. This was never the will of the Lord and, as usual, when people replace the ways of the Lord with their own ways, darkness, not light, is the result. And the resultant years after the ministries were hidden are called the dark ages, because the light of the simple gospel was hidden and masked. During these dark times there were still men and women each given as gifts to the church, under the authority of these fi ve ministries, by the Lord. But their function was hindered, and often confusion, and ignorance limited their open functioning. Even Jesus could not do many mighty works when confronted with an unbelieving populace (Ma tt hew13:58). There are many di ff erent types of unbelief and lack of knowledge is a type of unbelief. Although there were reformers before the time of Martin Luther, the great reformation really commenced in earnest with the teachings of Martin Luther. He is credited with restoring the theology of the Pauline Epistles including justi fi cation by faith and the priesthood of all who believe upon the Lord Jesus. But what also began to be returned to the church at this time was a beginning of the understanding of the ministry of the pastor. The hierarchical priesthood was revealed as a counterfeit to the priesthood into which all believers are called to participate. Not only was a priestly clergy replaced by the service of each believer, but a process of restoring biblical pastors also began. Not that this happened overnight, as it is still occurring to this day, and will not be completed until all fi ve ministries are functioning together from The Shepherd’s bag. 15 Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you.”

Today there is not much opposition to the idea that there are pastors, teachers and evangelists in the church. But there once was. When the Wesley brothers were used to help restore the o ffi ce of the evangelist to the church, the justi fi cation often used by others to persecute them was that there were no more evangelists since the fi rst apostles died. As the Lord is currently calling men to serve as ministers representing all fi ve of the gifts it is important that we understand that heaven will continue to hold the Lord and delay His second coming until He has completed the restoration of all these things (Acts 3:2). ENDNOTES: 3 Many Scholars have suggested that somehow the eleven apostles who chose Ma tt hias to replace Judas Iscariot were somehow mistaken and the Lord really wanted Saul, who became known as Paul. However, this cannot be the case as Paul did not then nor ever ful fi ll the requirements as one of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14). This title and the position of the twelve apostles was only available to someone who met the requirements laid out in Acts 1:21-22, only someone who was a disciple present with the company of Jesus from his baptism by John all the way until the day when He ascended as a witness with us of His resurrection. The apostle Paul and all other apostles after him do not ful fi ll these requirements. 4 An example of those who believe there are no apostles since the twelve, based upon the requirements for the twelve, is found in THE BIBLE EXPOSITION COMMENTARY (New Testament, originally published in 2 volumes) WARREN W. WIERSBE One of the quali fi cations for an apostle was that - he had seen the risen Christ (Acts 1:22; 1 Corinthians 9:1); and, since nobody can claim that experience today, there are no apostles in the church. The Apostles and prophets laid the foundation for the church (Ephesians 2:20), and the pastors, teachers, and evangelists are building on it. If there are no apostles, there can be no "signs of an apostle" as are found in the Book of Acts (2 Corinthians 12:12).” (from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.) “The Generosity of the Believers (Acts 4:32-37) Of course none of the other apostles listed in scripture are known to have seen Christ before his ascension, most notably the apostle Paul, who wrote these verses. The scriptures always hold more weight in interpreting their own meaning than the scholars who contradict the clear meaning found in scripture. (Acts 1:22; 1 Corinthians 9:1); and, since nobody can claim that experience today, there are no apostles in the church. The Apostles and prophets laid the foundation for the church (Ephesians 2:20), and the pastors, teachers, and evangelists are building on it. If there are no apostles, there can be no "signs of an apostle" as are found in the Book of Acts (2 Corinthians 12:12).” (from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.) “The Generosity of the Believers (Acts 4:32-37) Of course none of the other apostles listed in scripture are known to have seen Christ before his ascension, most notably the apostle Paul, who wrote these verses. The scriptures always hold more weight in interpreting their own meaning than the scholars who contradict the clear meaning found in scripture.

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Chapter Three

CALLING AND COMMISSIONING

J ewelers and Rock Hounds are familiar with a machine called a rock tumbler which is used in the process of making jewelry. It often consists of a plastic jar into which goes a rubber bladder. Various grades of polishing compounds, which are used to smooth and polish stones to be used in making earrings, necklaces, and other items of jewelry, are placed into the bladder and turned by the tumbler. First the coarsest grade of compound is put in the plastic jar along with some water, and the stones which are intended to be polished. The jar is then sealed. This is then placed upon the tumbler which is initialized and left alone to tumble the stones in the gri tt y mixture for the next few weeks. The prescribed time in this fi rst stage might be more or less, depending in part upon how rough the stones were in the beginning of the process. In the second stage the whole jar is emptied and all the stones are rinsed o ff . At this stage the ultimate shape of the stone is set. One must be sure at this stage that the rough edges and sharpness have been removed. If the roughness is not clearly removed then the stones are placed back in the coarsest compound and left to tumble some more as a repeat of stage one. Any stone could have its roughness removed at this stage if the handler is patient enough. If a stone is not allowed to tumble enough time at this stage, it might bring regret at the end of the process for having too sharp of an edge. When this stage is completed properly, the rough edges will have been removed and the stones are much smoother than when they were fi rst placed on the tumbler. In truth though, they are still far from polished. Back into the jar the stones will go, time and again, with fi ner and fi ner grit compound to smooth and polish. When the process is fi nally completed the stones are taken out, rinsed o ff , and admired for their smoothness and shine. Each polished stone is unique, both in shape and in coloration. Each may then be placed in their intended se tt ings to be used for their ultimate purpose.

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Malachi 3:17 "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day

that I make them My jewels..."

The entire tumbling process could take months, which will require patience, yet it is in actuality a speeding up of the process that stones go through in nature in a stream, river or on a seashore. The tumbling action of the fl owing water consistently smooths and polishes the rocks and stones until they are not sharp and coarse. In nature this process may take hundreds and even thousands of years to complete, much longer than the best rock tumbler.This is the process that the fi ve smooth stones had undergone before David chose them from the brook and placed them into his shepherd’s bag. This is likewise a prophetic symbol of what ministers, as living stones chosen by God, must go through before they can be placed into His shepherd’s bag, ready for His use in the spiritual ba tt le. There are di ff erent stages for a minister from calling to commissioning, and each stage can require repeating, just as with the rocks in the tumbler. Each step is as important as the last and must be completed fully, but there are stages which may be more critical to success. Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Isaiah 49:2 “And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me." God sent Samuel the prophet to the house of Jesse to identify a king from the tribe of Judah. Samuel requested that Jesse bring all his sons before him, but Jesse only brought the seven oldest. He neglected to bring David even though he had been requested to bring all his sons. Fortunately Samuel listened to the Lord and anointed as king the one who had a heart after God. 1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, 18

“Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.” When it comes to ministry what is most important is what is after God's heart, not what is obvious or natural. We are fortunate if we can have those around us who see us according to God's eyes and not after the fl esh, or natural abilities only. David had the anointing for his purpose from that day forward, but not the position or commission for that purpose yet. One of the important aspects of David's success is not that he immediately stepped into the role of the king of Israel, but rather after he was anointed as king, he went back to his regular duties as a shepherd boy watching his father's fl ock, and there he learned to use the anointing of the Lord placed on his life. Watching over fl ocks of sheep in a wild area with predators such as lions, bears and wolves it is acceptable that a shepherd get help against such predators. We have the parable of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” It was expected, and acceptable for the shepherd boy to get help from others when the wolf came to prey on the fl ock. What was not acceptable was for him to falsely “cry wolf” when there wasn't any danger. Of course we know in the parable eventually he came to regret his a tt ention-ge tt ing false starts. However, David did not run for help when the predators came even though it would have been acceptable. Rather he did what the average shepherd boy couldn't do, and that was to use a kingly anointing withstanding the threats against his father's fl ock. There is something to be said for David, who not immediately a tt empting to play the role as king of all God's people, but took the anointing of king back to his sheep. He began to use the anointing in the role in which he already was functioning. He found that he could do things with his anointing that he couldn't do without it. With the power anointing he was able to both subdue the lion and the bear, which prepared him for the giant. 1 Samuel 17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the fl ock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant 19

has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has de fi ed the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” Taking this course opened the door for David to work more closely with Saul the king. David certainly learned things from king Saul that he used in his own dominion later. It's clear that Saul was not always a willing or a good mentor, but David was able to learn from both the good and the bad. David had opportunity to step into his calling through his own e ff orts, by taking Saul’s life when he had opportunity to take it. Many would have said David was justi fi ed in doing so, even that God had ordained it. But time and again David chose not to promote himself or speed up the process of stepping into his own calling by accepting a premature commissioning. During this time he also received input and mentoring from Samuel the prophet in the ways of the Lord which was bene fi cial to him in the future. It's been said that if the devil can't stop a ministry or calling he will try to promote it prematurely. He did this in the wilderness with Jesus. Having failed to destroy Jesus at his birth, he o ff ered him all the things that Jesus had actually been sent to take, but o ff ered it to Him prematurely in a way not authorized by heaven. Moses also, knowing from his youth that he was saved at birth and called to deliver his people, prematurely a tt empted to do that in an earthly manner, by killing the Egyptian. This then actually delayed his ministry of deliverance.

Proverbs 20:21 “ An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not

be blessed at the end.”

Not only was David diligent to take the anointing he received and immediately put it to work in the place where he already was set, but he also was patient and did not force his calling or commissioning prematurely, but embraced his time of preparation, allowing himself to be re fi ned and prepared for his day of full commissioning.

Hebrews 6:12 “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who

through faith and patience inherit the promises.” 20

I see another example in the life of Caleb, who, along with Joshua was one of two spies who brought a good report and did not compare the giants of the land to themselves or their own abilities, but compared the giants to God's calling and God's ability in the context of God’s promises. Yet because of the unbelief of the majority of the congregation Caleb had to wait 40 more years to accomplish his ultimate calling. In Hebrew Caleb means “dog!” Interestingly God says of Caleb that he “was of a di ff erent spirit and wholly followed the Lord.” Like a faithful dog, or furry companion, Caleb did not allow the delay between his calling and his commissioning to keep him from his day for victory, nor did he allow it to be a time wasted, but utilized his time in the wilderness to continue to learn to hear and follow the voice of the Lord. Caleb is the only person in scripture of whom it is wri tt en he wholly or fully followed the Lord, and it says Caleb was of a di ff erent spirit (Numbers 14:24; 32:11, 12; Deuteronomy 1:36; Joshua 14:8, 9, 14.) Numbers 14:24 “But My servant Caleb, because he has a di ff erent spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” Like a faithful companion, he was ready to go at the beginning. But like a well trained dog, he would stay when he heard his master say “stay” and go when he heard “go” and a tt ack when he heard “a tt ack.” We also would be wise to embrace the example of David and Caleb and so many others who having received their dream, their vision, their calling - utilized the time of preparation and polishing to be processed and prepared. Not rushing in prematurely, nor ignoring the day of training, mentoring and practice, but rather being strengthened in the abilities so as to be always ready and when the opportunity should present itself to rise to the call. 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”

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Chapter Four

CHARACTER COMES FIRST

H ow do we know who is truly called of God to fi ve-fold ministry? What about false apostles and false prophets? There has been a signi fi cant amount of discussion on judging ministries for oneself, and time and experience present a need to give serious consideration and re fl ection on this subject. Discerning true, false, functioning, fallen, or those immature in ministry is very important. Based upon the study of the scripture, and much re fl ection in rightly dividing, applying, and understanding scripture, including practical application in light of the ministry of apostleship, some insights become clearer. In 2 Corinthians 12:12, King James Version (KJV) the apostle Paul wrote what he called the signs of an apostle. “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds 5 .” Paul is clearly speaking of his apostleship in this verse, and in the immediate context of this verse. He was not defending his Christianity as no one questioned that he was a Christian, not even Caesar Nero when he was later brought before him. However, men had come into Corinth and had caused the church there to question his apostolic ministry, which he was defending. The vast majority of people reading this verse believe Paul is stating that the sign of his apostleship was signs, wonders and mighty deeds. In the characterization of apostles and the apostolic movement we ought not make excuses to those who want to see more signs and wonders. Dr. Eric Belcher, who was an ordained apostle and Vice President of Christ for the Nations International, taught that apostles should keep a fi le of the miracles God has done through their ministry, mainly for personal referral and to go through from time to time for encouragement and faith building and remembrance, but not mainly to convince doubters and naysayers. He said it should not be mainly for anyone else, but for personal encouragement, by recalling God’s goodness. Most everyone would love to see increased miracles and see them more often. However, we also can be reminded that the Pharisees demanded more signs and wonders from even Jesus! So we might draw some understanding from this

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worldly perspective of judgment. Speci fi cally, that if some people could not even be satis fi ed with the miracles and signs which Jesus did, why would a present day apostle try to impress them or convince them of the validity of his or her ministry through signs and miracles? God doesn’t, so why should we? When Jesus left His commission with His apostles and disciples, He said in Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” The only requirement the Lord gave for these signs was to believe. Those who would have faith to accomplish these things in His name (his authority), would be known as believers 6 . Consider that these signs and wonders are not signs of apostleship according to Jesus, these are just the “regular kind of everyday signs.” The signs Paul was speaking of were of the same general variety, but they were accomplished in the course of his apostolic ministry. There is one thing to take notice of, which is often overlooked in 2 Corinthians 12:12. Paul began his list with patience, not with miracles. Now the word translated patience in this verse is translated perseverance in other translations. Nevertheless, it must be pointed out because it is an a tt ribute which Paul was using to set apart his apostleship from the everyday, garden variety, generally-willing to-be-martyred-at-a-moments-notice-testify-for-Jesus, for this was the fi rst century Christian a tt itude. Once, while speaking with a young man who was going through what you might call a “rebellious stage” and discovering that he had decided that he no longer believed in apostles and prophets because he was n’t seeing “enough miracles” to suit him, he referred to 2 Corinthians 12:12 as proof. Mark 16:17 and 18 were pointed out to him and he was reminded that all saints should manifest supernatural signs and wonders, and that a signi fi cant di ff erence in the two texts was that Paul pointed to his patience. The young man was then reminded, with a loving smile, that those around him were currently exercising great patience with him. He thought for a moment and then agreed and added that he knew he was only saved and alive because of the miracles of God. In short, Paul was pointing to apostolic character before signs (but not in place of those signs). If we look only for supernatural signs, fi rst and foremost, we may place ourselves in danger of eventually being deceived, led astray, or, in the least, hurt unnecessarily. This is not to imply that signs are unimportant, but simply that we should look for the character of Christ fi rst. After all, in the heart of every true 23