Well, my precious Heartdwellers, the Lord gave me a message tonight
that began as, really - something I was going to write to help some
people out of a very difficult trial. As I was beginning to write about
it, He cut in and He started talking. So, I'm going to go ahead and
share with you how this all happened.
I began by saying, "Everything has an order, ordained by
God, upheld by God from rulers to ministers to street workers who
repair the water supply for a city." And at that point, I was seeing men
working in a manhole.
Then Jesus began to speak, and He said, "Each of
them has a mandate from Me to carry out certain tasks. Each of them has
been trained by Me and found competent to function in their calling. The
greater the calling, the longer the training and the deeper one must be
cleansed. Imperfections in the foundation of a building 30 stories high
spells disaster, whereas imperfections in the foundation of a building
only 20 feet high, may never have an affect. So, for the taller
buildings, the preparation must be made meticulously so the building
will last and not give way to killing all the inhabitants.
"And so it is with my ministers. The gifts must be
harnessed and used to pull the carriage forward at a steady yet safe
pace. If the horses are not well trained under the harness, they will
lunge, buck, take off running wildly, dart through trees and destroy the
carriage and themselves. And so the discipline and preparation for
ministry can be arduous and long.
"My servants, truly it is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. My gifts are nothing to be toyed with
or treated lightly. There is a way to operate in My gifts and a way not
to operate in them, lest they do more harm than good. Having the gift is
only the beginning. Then you must be trained in how to use that tool.
Just as a surgeon goes through many hours of training on how to perform
surgery, so My Spiritual surgeons must undergo many, many hours of
formation, and sometimes very personal formation. You do not rush in
with a scalpel and begin directing the surgery team on how to perform
the surgery when you haven't even been through your first year of
pre-med training.
"So it is with My gifts. There is a protocol, a
preparation, training, character formation where discretion becomes a
prized entity. Discretion not only preserves the patient but knows where
and when to apply the medicine, how much, how little, working in tandem
with other disciplines to bring a patient to perfect health. I wish for
you all to operate in the greatest gifts, but understand when you come
to serve Me, prepare yourself to undergo many hardships. You will not
understand why certain things will be done or not done with you, until
you are near the end of your training. Then you will be able to look
back and see why that time of trial was so very necessary to you.
"The gifts in the wrong hands, or the hands of those
who are untrained is a disaster waiting to happen. There are yet many
layers of lessons the surgeon must learn. How to diagnose the healthy
tissue from the diseased tissue, how much to take out and how much to
leave. What effect taking this out will have on the other parts of the
body system. How to anesthetize the patient, how to prepare them for
surgery, how to make them cooperate during the healing process, what
complications can set in, what infections can overtake the body and kill
it despite a successful surgery. You see, working with souls is no
different. There are many layers to their growth, each one must be laid
down meticulously, and one who doctors souls must be trained as well as
one who doctors bodies.
"Each person carries a different anointing. A
hospital administrator's anointing is different from the cook's, from
the nurse's, from the maintenance and security staff, from the surgeons
and trauma staff. Each has been trained and attained a degree of
responsibility in their area of expertise and that's why they are
appointed to be responsible for what goes on beneath them.
"A cook does not tell a nurse how to administer
medication, an administrator doesn't tell a surgeon how to operate, an
anesthesiologist does not tell the maintenance man how to get the floors
clean nor do the maintenance staff tell him how to administer
medication.
"And so it is in My kingdom. Everyone has an
appointed task. Everyone has an area of expertise, and when all honor.
And when ALL honor the position of each other, My Kingdom comes, My will
is done. When change needs to be made, I send in My representatives to
approach the department head and give the message. They are not
responsible for how the message is implemented or even if it is
implemented. That is My job. Conviction is My appointment. I do not
force anyone to take My advice and use it. I simply offer it and allow
the person qualified for the job to make the right decision on how to
use it.
"Just so with my prophets and ministers. They may be
given a message, but they have been trained to present it without
constraints or force. There is an art to this, that is why it takes many
years of training to prepare one who advises department heads. There is
a right way and a wrong way. The message is so important, that if it is
done the wrong way, the messenger is responsible for the failure of
that message to be heeded.
"One must be a follower before they can lead. They
must be tested in temperance, patience, respect, decorum and
presentation before I can trust them with the bigger tasks. I am
pre-eminently respectful of those in positions of authority and
responsibility. I take their office very seriously. If they do not come
to Me for advice I stand back and watch. If they seek Me out, I offer
suggestions - but never in a way that disrespects their office. Never
forcefully, never presuming to have the only the right answer or saying
'God showed me this is the way to run your department, or this is the
way you should minister. God told me to tell you.'
"That administrator has been listening to Me for a
very long time and they know My voice, another they will not follow. If
your suggestion is from Me and given in the proper way, I will open the
ears of the hearer without such announcements as 'God told me to tell
you. Or God said to do it this way. Or God showed me what was wrong with
your department.' These are lessons the messengers of God must learn if
they are to be trusted with greater assignments. Your motive may be
right, your understanding right, but if done in the wrong way, what you
do will be wrong.
"My people, you see only in part. You hear only in
part. You are all open to clever deceptions. Not a one of you has been
perfect in your hearing, and if you come to serve Me, you will not
operate in presumption and rush in where angels fear to tread. Rather
you will walk lightly and be very cautious about what you hear and how
you tell others about it, not presuming for one moment that you know
better or have been shown better. Rather in fear and trembling, speaking
for Me, you will gently offer the word knowing full well that you have
been mistaken before and could be again. And for you to give advice in
My Name, when you are mistaken is a grave, grave thing.
'Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.' James 3
"In speaking of requirements for overseers, 'He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.' (which was pride, by the way.) I Timothy 3
"An overseer is one who advises department heads of
the wisdom I impart to him. Though he come in My authority, never does
he say, 'This is what God told me to tell you to do.' Rather he offers
up the word of truth in all humility and that servant, knowing My voice
will take it to heart. But this is the task of overseers, not recent
converts. People who rush to tell a pastor what to do, and are still
very young in the Lord, are immature in their character formation. They
will meet with scorn and contempt, and rightly so. The Pastor knows My
voice and another he will not follow. And the pastor also knows how I
operate.
"Though you have done your best to hear Me, if you
do not understand how naked, fallible and empty you are before Me, you
will not present it in such a manner that reflects My humility. Many
times I show you things to pray for and not declare openly to others. A
novice is eager to show the world that he hears from Me and share
sublime things that I would prefer he kept for us alone. And for this
reason, I soon remain silent in his presence. A wise man is careful in
his speech not to cause offense and more often is silent, and this man I
can freely converse with.
"When you are trusted with great treasure, you do
not run about exposing it to the thieves who will come and murder you in
your sleep and steal it. Just so, the demons watch and wait for the
slip of a tongue, plotting how best to entrap you and bring you into
disrepute.
"And so My children, the greater the mysteries I
reveal to you, the greater the discretion you must have, the more humble
you must become, understanding that they are only on loan to you and at
any moment I could return you to your former ignorance. And at times,
that is exactly what I will do. I will withhold the former things from
you that you learn the virtues of discretion and humility. I do this
because I love you and have great things in store for you, not to punish
you, but to form.
Source: Heartdwellers
