Number SI/010

Revised March 2013

COME TO THE GREAT SUPPER The parable of the Great Supper, and Jesus’ subsequent description of what true discipleship means to those who followed Him, might seem harsh and demanding at first glance. But we need to understand who He was talking to and why, and then consider our own relationship with Him, our motives in following Him and what we are prepared to sacrifice if it should be required. [Luke 14:7] When it comes to the things of God, many people are tempted to put off until tomorrow what they should do today. They make foolish decisions which they would never consider making where their families or jobs are concerned simply because it is easier to put off spiritual commitment until another day. But as Jesus shows in His parable of the Great Supper, following Him is a decision of utmost importance, and having decided to make a firm commitment to Him, you can expect to be blessed more than abundantly. This is what this pamphlet is all about.

Accepting Jesus’ invitation Jesus mentions three categories of invitees to the supper described in Luke 14, men of obvious distinction in the community, wealthy men, men of standing. In those times two invitations were apparently sent out, and invitees who accepted were sometimes (or often - depending on the host’s status!) inclined to reject the second invitation. In this story told by Jesus, when the time came to attend, they all had excuses: the man with the piece of ground (whose concern was with his property/status), the man who had purchased oxen (whose concern was with his business interests), and the man who had just married a wife (whose concern was with his wife and home – ie family). All these are essentially legitimate reasons for not attending, but they excused themselves at the last minute after having first accepted the master’s invitation, indicating that they were taking his invitation for granted and probably had no intention of going anyway. The host was understandably rather annoyed at the rejection, having gone to the expense of arranging his dinner, only to be turned down at the last moment. As Jesus relates the story, he then sent his servants out to invite the poor and crippled and blind and lame to take his friends’ stead. There was still room, however, so he sent them out again, this time into the countryside, instructing them to compel people they found in the highways and by-ways - the homeless who were living under bridges and hedges to come to the feast. The Greek word for “compel”, anagka, is used, meaning in context, “by earnest entreaties” or “prevail on them by the most earnest entreaties...” [Thayer and Baker’s Commentaries] One would think that an invitation like this to hungry disadvantaged people would be met with great glee, but no, they had to be prevailed upon with ernest entreaties. Why? Because they would not have considered themselves “worthy” to come and might well have resisted in fear or uncertainty and doubt and/or embarrassment. But as is apparent from the story, they came and filled the host’s house. And the people who had used shallow excuses to refuse the invitation out of indifference and self-righteousness? Jesus tells us the host said, “For I say to you that not one of those men who had been invited shall taste of my supper.” [Luk 14:24 LITV] It is clear that what Jesus is really saying is that our status in society, our own self-righteousness, our works and confidence in the flesh will not “earn” a place at His table. In this instance He was talking to his host the Pharisee and his friends who considered themselves deserving of their place in Heaven –

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 because of their efforts (their good deeds). But He is also speaking indirectly to the Jews, because they were the people of God by virtue of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yehovah had worked with them since the time of Moses to bring them to a place of acceptance into His Kingdom via the Law and the system of sacrifices (“... in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” [Heb 10:3-4 ESV] ) In fact they fully expected to be rewarded with high office in the coming kingdom of David of prophesy brought by the Messiah, who they rather anticipated might be Jesus of Nazareth. But as Jesus cried out when entering Jerusalem for the last time, “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth... “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” [Mat 23:34-39 NKJV] [And Luk 13:34] The Jews had rejected God’s invitation time and again, so now the invitation was being extended to those who they considered unworthy. The people who knew they had not “earned” and did not “deserve” the invitation. These were to be brought to the Supper of the Lamb. The people that the Jews wrote off as foreigners and outcasts (the Gentiles) would be prevailed upon to come because they, the chosen people of God, had rejected His invitation. It is a wonderful story of the unmerited, unearned grace and favour of God being extended to the undeserving – all of us. It is a pressing invitation to lay aside our efforts to earn favour, to stop performing to become righteous through our own works and to accept that we can do nothing but receive from God the abundance of His grace and of His gift of righteousness. [Baker] The central lesson of the parable to His host, the Pharisee, to those present at his dinner and anyone else in the future, is that refusal to accept God’s gracious invitation of salvation by grace through faith will result in exclusion from the blessings and joys of the Kingdom of Heaven. “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days’, declares the Lord: ‘I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,’ then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’” [Heb 10:10-17 ESV] “But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” [Gal 3:22-29 ESV]

The calling to discipleship In Luke 14 vs 24 we find, “For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” The calling of God is also a calling to discipleship and extended to every believer, because as Christians we are all called into the ministry of reconciliation – of man to God. While there are those who are specifically called to lead the church in this ministry, some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers [Eph 4:11] they are intended to equip the SAINTS for the work of ministry, and each joint of the body is supposed to do its share to cause the

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 body of Christ to grow. [Eph 4:11-16] Clearly, the Lord Jesus desires and makes it possible by His grace for every believer to participate in this glorious mission. Yes, there is a church leadership and its function is to lead the church to maturity, but that does not exclude the sheep or exclude them. Indeed, they have just as big a calling to participate in what the Holy Spirit is doing. The passage from Ephesians puts that pretty plainly. But how many in the church today realise what is available to them? It is significant that the message of grace being extended to all is followed in Luke’s gospel by Jesus’ address to the “multitudes” who followed Him. [Luk 14:24] Jesus knew what was in their hearts. He knew they were following him because of the miracles they saw [Joh 6:2] and because He had provided free food for them [vs 26], so again, He wanted them to examine their true motives so that they could come to a place where they could make a genuine decision about truly following Him as disciples. He knew that many wanted to make Him king and the obvious corollary to that would be that they would seek positions in his retinue. So He cautioned them that He had not come to seek position, but to serve and to sacrifice, so that was the heart which those who followed Him should have too. Discipleship does come at a cost, and Jesus wanted them to know that, just as He wants us to appreciate it and be prepared to sacrifice our own interests and our own flesh. Nothing that is truly worthwhile is cheap. “If anyone comes to me and does not (prefer Me above) his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it….So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has, cannot be my disciple…Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavour, how shall it be seasoned?..It is neither fit for the land, nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. [Luk 14:25-35] The underlying message is that Christ must take priority over all: family, friends, business interests: not that we have to abandon everything and turn our backs mercilessly on everyone, but that He must be central to who we are and what we do. That is, in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God. When Peter said to Jesus that they had abandoned all their private possessions to become His followers, travelling the same road as Him, Jesus said, “Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left (abandoned) house or brother or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake and the Gospel’s (for the sake of the kingdom of God) who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time – houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life.” [Mar 10:28-31, bracketed italics mine] As you get to grips with these scriptures they will have a profound influence on you. They might seem inconvenient or hard on the flesh but if you accept His invitation and determine to follow Him no matter what the cost in this life, His grace will always carry you through. Jesus always looks on the heart and will never condemn when we slip up, but if the intent to be His disciple is truly there, He will enter in an intimate relationship with you and enable you to follow wherever He leads.

Fishers of men It is interesting to note that when Jesus called the Twelve, they IMMEDIATELY abandoned what they were doing to follow Him: Peter and Andrew left their nets, James and John turned their backs on their business with their father, Matthew the tax collector repented and restored what he had taken illegally from people, resigned his job immediately, and threw a party for Jesus. Here is an account of a man who was truly yearning for the Kingdom of God. But look at the account in Luke of others whom He called: all had some excuse or other, wanting to give priority to other things. But He said to another man “Follow me.” And he replied, “Let me go and bury my father first.” (Await his death so that I can bury him, then I will be available) But Jesus told him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. You must come away and preach the kingdom of God.” Another man said to Him, “I am going to follow you (as your permanent disciple) Lord, but first let me bid farewell to my people at home.” (From Jesus’ next remark it appears that he wanted to remain in their good favour so that he would not be disinherited) But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts his hand to the plough and looks behind him

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 (to the things he left behind) is useless for the kingdom of God.” [Luk 9:57-62 Phillips, bracketed italics added] Clearly discipleship is a lifelong, total commitment which is expected not only of those who are called to enter the ministry, but also of those whom some call “laymen” or “ordinary believers”. Does it mean that God always wants you literally to abandon everything in your life? What He is looking for is a heart attitude. It is a relationship of complete trust founded on unqualified love. When He asked Abram to sacrifice Isaac, He in no way intended for Isaac to die. The incident is a type and symbol for us: it foreshadowed God’s willingness to sacrifice His Son for us and it shows what our heart attitude to God must be: nothing should be more precious to us than our relationship with Him. We should have the same willingness as Abram did in being prepared to give up the most precious thing in his life, his son. God the Father (our Father), after all, gave up His Son, His only Son, whom He loved... that is, His ALL, for us.

Go! Preach the gospel Jesus warned that there would be persecution for those who committed to following him and at times, people will seek to discourage what they consider excessive behaviour: going to fellowships several times a week, no longer smoking or going out with the boys and of course most alarming, speaking in tongues! Don’t be discouraged and don’t get angry with or hurt by those who resist.. Forgive them and pray for them. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.” [Mat 5:11] Paul admonishes us to bless those who persecute us, bless and do not curse [Rom 12:14] God is your judge. As you seek the kingdom first, putting the Lord Jesus Christ first in your life, being obedient to His commandment to love one another as He loved us. [Joh 13:34,35 and Joh 15:12,17], then He will meet your needs and those of your family if you have one. Make sure you seek to do those things which He has asked you to do, not those things that your flesh tells you to do (good works to impress others or elevate yourself above them). The same applies if your spouse opposes your decision. You need to pray for your spouse and trust the Holy Spirit to move in his or her life. When a wife is prepared to lay down her life for her husband and family the Lord Jesus will anoint her to cope with any situation. In a marriage relationship, the wife is serving God in serving her husband first. If her husband has been called by God into leadership, He will anoint her and make her part of that calling as a perfect complement. The Holy Spirit will give her wisdom and manifest His gifts through her in her immediate family too. It goes without saying that the Lord expects her to spend time praying for her husband and children so that He can work in her and through her. [Prov 31:10 ff] As she submits to the Lord in this way, He will also be able to use her powerfully outside of the family situation in the ministry work He has for her, whatever that may be. The man with a family has a particular responsibility to the Lord to be the leader, or priest, in his home. [Eph 5:28 - 33] It is his job to pray for them, counsel them and guide them in the things of God. It is also his job to ensure that the Lord is honoured in the home. If he is a minister in the church, the husband should have elders who are raised up by God standing at either side of him to support him, because if he relies solely on his wife to do this he is looking for trouble. It is not her role and she will not be able to cope. In fact, she will be exposed to Satan’s attack, often through a spirit of Jezebel (See Jezebel, by H Viljoen, a Sword publication, also SWORD INFO SERIES Nos SI/004 and SI/005.) Every minister of the gospel should have others, friends, who are ministers or elders in the church to whom he can relate when he is not attached to a church as a minister with an eldership providing support. It is important not to become isolated.

The calling of God is a holy calling There comes a time when the Lord desires you to stand and put His Word into practice and walk in the freedom of the knowledge you have. If you have stumbled in this area, allowing self-condemnation, fear of authority (that is, man-made authority) and guilt in your life, don’t despair about it. Recognise it for what it is and grow out of it by seeking God and learning to rely on Him and His abundant grace more. One of the main stumbling blocks in the life of faith is the opinion of others, not only unbelievers, but brothers and sisters in Christ too. Hold fast to the Word and trust God to give you the grace to know what

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 to say and how to stand firm. “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.” [Prov 29:25; Ps 56:4] “But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” [Exo 4:10-12 ESV] Jesus said to His disciples: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [Mat 10:16-20 ESV] Now when they take you [to court] and put you under arrest, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say nor [even] meditate about it; but say whatever is given you in that hour and at the moment, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. [Mar 13:11 AMP] As you try to walk free of those areas of your life where there was bondage, you might find that your conviction and dedication to doing what the Lord Jesus Christ wants makes others uncomfortable, possibly because they don’t feel as dedicated, or they realise that they are not fully committed to Him. They react accordingly and that is the ultimate source of persecution! Their attitude might well stem from feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, envy, resentment or immaturity. Don’t condemn them or be tempted to feel that you are superior. Watch your own attitudes very carefully because it is very easy to fall into the trap of smugness and self-righteousness at this point! And don’t worry about what other people are called to do. Focus on what the Lord wants you to do. Remember what Jesus said to Peter when he asked of John who had followed them “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me.” [Joh 21:20-22] Too many Christians are occupying themselves with what the other person is doing and so are not doing what Jesus is expecting of them.

Serving in the kingdom Each individual is personally responsible for his own spiritual growth and commitment. “Therefore, my beloved… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” [Php 2:12;13] When you are hungry to follow God, His grace is there in abundance to ensure that you can. Do not try to impose on others what you believe the Lord has called you to do. Only Jesus by His Spirit can take an individual along the path that He has prepared If others are comfortable with what they haves spiritually and do not want to follow the path you have chosen, then that is their choice and you do not have the right to look down on them. You do not know what the Lord wants them to do nor how He wants them to do it. However, once you have decided on the path the Lord is leading you to follow, don’t allow others to try to manipulate you to compromise what you believe is right. If you want to know God and move on with Him you might well have to make the decision to leave people, even loved ones.. Expect them to feel betrayed and to accuse you accordingly. Don’t allow guilt and condemnation to get to you. Forgive and pray for them. Do not let unforgiveness or resentment bring a root of bitterness. Trust the Lord to reach them when the time is right. Jesus our Lord loves and cherishes each one of us. He told us that not even a sparrow falls without His knowing, and we are much more precious to Him than sparrows are. He numbers the hairs on our heads. He has a plan for each one of us, determined from before we were born – it is up to us though to accept His plan and live it out through the grace He provides. He treats each of us as precious individuals, each with something special to give and to do. God is not operating a multinational business empire, an empire in which we have to compete with one another for the “goodies”! The kingdom of God is not an empire in which we trample one another to get places. We do not have to gain a “reputation” in the body so that we can feel we have achieved something. We are not required to strive after success as they do in the world. The Lord Jesus has said that He will elevate those whom He wishes to. He will elevate the faithful, those who have been prepared to take the lowly place

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 and serve their brethren because they love them and are prepared to lay their lives down for them. Those who seek the top places at His table He will ask to move so that He can honour those whom He wishes to. “For whoever exalts himself will be abased and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” [Luk 14:11] We are all brothers and sisters and Jesus said he who would be first must first be prepared to be last. Jesus Christ set us an example of how we were to live, and He became a servant.

Priorities for the Christian The only priority we need as believers is to keep Jesus Christ central to all we do. This we can do only by the grace that the Lord pours out in abundance as we yield to Him. The calling that the Lord Jesus Christ places on us should lead to an ever-growing hunger for Him – to know Him more intimately, to live His Word, to be led by His Holy Spirit. He will relate to you where you are and according to what He has called you to do. The Lord Jesus Christ has called you into service as a believer and you have to remember that this calling is holy. It goes with the first and only priority in your life – God. It is above everything else that you have in the world. It has to become your all-consuming goal, because that is where you meet the Lord. If the Lord has called you into ministry office, for example if He has called you as an evangelist, then that is how He will relate to you, His evangelist. If He has called you as a prophet, that is how He will relate to you, His prophet. Your part is to be obedient in yielding to Him and seeking Him through prayer and meditation on His Word. You in turn will relate to Him as evangelist or prophet. Calling speaks of the relationship you have with the Lord Jesus. What flows out of that relationship with the Lord, others can feed on. Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He also said those who receive my servants, receive me. So as they honour the anointing (the presence of the Spirit of Christ in you) they will receive – eat – of that Spirit. Those who choose not to honour the anointing in you need not expect to receive from it. If you are called of God into ministry and you answer that call, then you have to allow Him to mould you. When you first answer the call or urging of the Holy Spirit, you are born again, because this is His first call: into fellowship with Him. But whether you are called into the ministry of reconciliation given to every Christian or called into service as a leader, you have to give yourself over to Him totally and learn to rely on His grace.. The Pharisees of Jesus’ time thought they could earn righteousness through works: observing the law, reciting long prayers and the like This they believed would get them closer to God than anyone else. Jesus told this story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax (collector). The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax (collector). I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’ “Meanwhile the tax (collector), slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’” Jesus commented, “This tax (collector), not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.” [Luk 18:9-14 MSG] It is not works and your fleshly effort that will make you effective in ministry: it is only His grace and a close relationship with Him that will produce lasting fruit. The Pharisees tried to please God by their own efforts (works) thus impressing their fellows. They tried by their own efforts to be deserving and as learned Jews they should have known better: the High Priest was required by God to wear undergarments which were cool so that he did not sweat when serving the LORD. This tells us that God does not appreciate our sweaty efforts! Jesus shows us that these works are dead and do not please the Father. We please the Father when we walk by faith in obedience to Him, allowing Him full control of our lives and by RESTING in Him.

Abiding in the vine Abiding in the vine comes from consciously walking with the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes when you commit to the Holy Spirit by constantly leaning on Him. Jesus’ relationship with His disciples is our

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 example of how we should be living our lives. His disciples were almost constantly asking Him questions, being taught by Him. When He was not with them, He was alone with the Father. That should be our lifestyle. We have to be in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit, with the same trusting relationship common to children. Jesus said, “You must go on growing in me and I will grow in you. For just as the branch cannot bear any fruit unless it shares the life of the vine, so you can produce nothing unless you go on growing in me. I am the vine itself, you are the branches. It is the man who shares my life and whose life I share who proves fruitful. For apart from me you can do nothing at all. The man who does not share my life is like a branch that is broken off and withers away. He becomes just like the dry sticks that men collect and use for firewood.” [Joh 15:4-6 Phillips] Among the persecutions you can expect will be those who try to convince you that you have been “carried away by emotions” or have made wrong decisions, perhaps in relation to family, friends or work. If you are praying regularly and consistently in the Spirit (in tongues) and your motives are right, then He is guiding you. You must believe that. He is well able to keep you. He will never allow His chosen ones to go astray. This is one of satan’s strongest attacks when you are walking in faith. The questions, “have I missed it?” “Am I really hearing from God?” will frequently plague you. Just be absolutely honest with yourself and with the Holy Spirit regarding your motives. If you do start to suspect that you are not hearing from God and that you are being led astray, you know that God will stand by you if your heart is right towards Him, so turn to Him. This brings us to prayer again. The importance of seeking God in prayer and of praying constantly in the Spirit cannot be overemphasised. Spend time reading and meditating on His Word. It is here, more often than not, where He will speak to you. It is here that He will correct you if you are straying from His course. Once you have heard from the Spirit of God, be careful how you listen to men’s advice to the contrary If you are sure in your heart of what He is telling you to do, do not be swayed by the opinion of others. Notice however, Paul’s approach; “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me…Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and remained with him several days.” [Gal 1:15-17] He knew what the Lord had told him to do, but nevertheless, when the Lord led him to, he submitted what He believed was the Lord’s message to him to others in the faith. Fourteen years later, Paul once again when to Jerusalem, as led by the Holy Spirit, to communicate to the elders there “that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.” [Gal 2:1-10] He did not go as one who was inferior or superior, but as a fellow-minister. In other words, we submit to one another in the sense that “where there is no counsel the people fall, but in the multitude of counsellors, there is safety.” [Prov 11:14]

Trust in the Lord Do not ever put any man or woman on a pedestal and expect always to hear “the word of the Lord” from them for direction in your life and ministry. When you asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your life and be your personal Lord and Saviour, you were not instructed by any man to become part of what God is doing by becoming a partner of any particular ministry. God led you to where you are. How do you know He instructed you? You didn’t find it in His Word. So why, when you trusted Him to lead you when you were as innocent and open to deception as you were then, do you seek men’s stamp of approval regarding assignments the Lord Jesus might give you after you have started to mature in the Lord and know that you can trust Him to lead you safely? In the same way, although you should listen to and respect the counsel of people of God, particularly men and women of prayer and fast commitment, you cannot be led only by their counsel to make your decisions. You are answerable not to man but to Christ Jesus and He is expecting you to make your decisions according to what He asks you to do. Notice Peter and John’s reaction to the Sanhedrin when they commanded them not to preach in the name of Jesus. “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” [Act 4:18-20] SWORD MINISTRIES / 7

SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 You may even find that other ministers of the gospel will not agree with your position. Pray for them. If they criticise you, don’t dare retaliate. They are presumably anointed of God, people who are required to have your best interests at heart. Approach your praying for them with this attitude.

The importance of prayer Do not neglect your prayer life and time with the Lord. This is the only way to find out what He has planned for you. It is the only way to grow in Him. It is the only way to remain strong and to avoid deception. It is particularly true of those who are called into leadership. The early apostles gave themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. [Act 6:4] Then, as an anointed minister, you will be led by the Holy Spirit. While you fellowship with others and learn from them, you cannot rely on them to guide and protect you.. If you are yielded to the Holy Spirit, you cannot go wrong. But if you get off on your own, perhaps by relying on a man or woman you trust to give you direction and therefore neglecting prayer, you will be pounced on by Satan. Jesus warned His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” [Mat 26:41] Clearly, your flesh will overcome you if you neglect your prayer life. If you are concerned about any course of action you might have taken, believing that you have gone astray, expect the Holy Spirit to help you back on to the right path. Given the remote possibility that you might be deceived in ministry, you have to believe and accept that you have only God to rely on to rescue you. Walk by faith and not by sight, pray for His guidance and protection every day. If you spend TIME each day in prayer seeking God and asking Him for His guidance and His will, praying in the spirit, you will not be deceived. God is the only person who really knows your heart. Jesus our Lord expects you to step out in faith believing that He will protect you. The just shall live by faith. [Rom 1:17; Heb 10:38] For we walk by faith, not by sight. [2Co 5:7] Paul urges us in his letter to the Ephesians, “finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [Eph 6:10-13] This is spiritual warfare that Paul is talking about. The first battle you have to undertake is within yourself. If you do not win this one, notice by STANDING against everything the devil throws at you, for example your own weaknesses and sins, you will not be much use for anything else. You do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Your battle is a spiritual one and it involves standing on the position our Lord Jesus has won for you. That position is your freedom- salvation, healing and deliverance - bought with His blood. He has given you weapons to help you to stand. As you stand fast on your position, you start to gain in strength, so that pretty soon, you are able to help others to do the same, both via prayer (intercession) and ministry. Do not take on ministry before you have begun to address the failings in you own walk with God. Acknowledge the “weights and the sin which so easily beset” each one of us and commit to deal with them through His grace. Don’t let zeal or lack of knowledge or wrong motives get in the way and give satan a foothold.. There is nothing wrong with a “baby” Christian being over-zealous, as long as he is teachable and submits to sound counsel. If his motives are right, he will learn and grow. If not, he will keep stumbling about over his own feet, never progressing and always getting hurt, until he wakes up! Then the Lord will deal with him. Note the verse following Paul’s description of the armour: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. [Eph 6:18] Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will lead a defeated Christian life, because your prayer life will be severely hampered (See “The Divine Helper”, Sword Basic Bible Series, No. BB/005, A Sword Publication). “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” [Rom 8:26,27] Jesus promised us: “Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in Me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father. In fact, whatever you ask for in My name (Amplified Bible: as presenting all that I AM), I will do; so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for something in My name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep My commands; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever. [Joh 14:12-16 Complete Jewish Bible] The Greek word translated “Counsellor” here is paraklētos, which means, “Counsellor, Helper, Friend, Comforter, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby”, that He may remain with you forever – The Spirit of Truth. In other words, Someone just like Jesus Himself, in person. And if Jesus considered it important for His followers to have someone just like Him accompany them wherever they went, surely it is just as important for us today. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He said the disciples must not do anything or go anywhere until the Holy Spirit had come. So the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for all believers (not just a “special” few!) and His presence is essential for Christian life and for service. And the evidence of His presence is our speaking in other tongues: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” [Act 2:4 NKJV] [Also Mk 16:17; Act 19:6; 1Co 14:22] “For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people...” [Isa 28:11 NKJV] Jesus promised that He would not leave us orphans and that He would come to us. [Joh 14:18 NKJV] We cannot do without the Parakletos, the Comforter, Counsellor, Helper, Friend, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby.

Climbing Horeb, the mountain of God Growing up in the Lord is rather like climbing a mountain. When you are born again, you find yourself on a plain or in the foothills approaching the mountain. The scenery is beautiful: lovely landscape all around you, blue mountains in the near distance drawing you on, rolling green foothills in the middle foreground, a cool relatively effortless Christian walk. You mostly just enjoy all the Lord has for you, His protection, no cares, few worries apart from the baggage you probably brought with you, which you eventually discover the Lord Jesus was asking you to leave behind anyway. Yet for a time you slug it out, holding on to it, as security blanket. “Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” [Mat 11:28-30] As you journey towards the mountain, you encounter foothills, gentle ups and downs that are easily coped with. This is how the Spirit of God leads you. He protects you from the buffetings. As you continue on your way the going gets steadily tougher as He allows you to take more and more buffeting, the hills are getting steeper now and the valleys deeper. But as you proceed refusing to be swayed from your course (the Lord draws you on with cords of love) you are growing stronger in your confidence and trust in Him. Without realising it, you find that you have come a long way and that you are actually quite high up on the mountain itself. At this point, you may be tempted to rest, tempted to stop and enjoy the view, to relax, just for a moment. The danger is that if you do stop, you start to slide or to be drawn back down the path you climbed: the easier route. You start to FEEL tired. So much effort. Looking ahead, you realise that there is still a long way to go. Better to rest a while longer, and you start to slip! Your dedication falters on plateaux like this one because they are so enticing, there is little pressure. You often reach a plateau after a particularly hard climb, so the temptation to stop and look around is greater. It is in these places that satan comes to test you with pride, arrogance, wealth, men’s acclaim, lust or despondency, doubt and unbelief and so on – wherever you have a weakness.

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SWORD INFO SERIES No. 010 There is only one answer – keep going, keep trusting the Lord Jesus to take you onwards. Worship Him, particularly after each success, because with success comes a test. Know that it is by His grace that you are drawn upwards and onwards – not by your magnetic personality or abilities! “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” [Heb 12:1-3 NKJV] DON’T GIVE UP!

Come to the Great Supper. A

Sword publication

First published in June 1994 under ISBN 1-8744953-09-0. © Copyright Sword Productions cc June 1994 & February 2010. Revised March 2013 ALL RIGHTS ON OUR PUBLICATIONS ARE RESERVED. Therefore, no part of our publications may be reproduced in whole or in part for sale without the express written consent of the publisher. Our mission is to spread the Word of God freely and request any users to be considerate and respect their source when reprinting or publishing material gathered from Sword Ministries publications. All our published works are provided after prayer and thorough reflection. We fervently believe that they have been given by the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit. We use the Word of God as written in the scriptures and quote from the Bible extensively. Though we consider the King James Version of the Bible to be the most accurate translation at our disposal, we continuously refer to other translations in order to make the teachings clear and enjoyable. SWORD INFO SERIES. Sword Ministries, PO Box 653268, Benmore 2010; Tel.: +2711 784-4890/1; www.sword.co.za; Please contact us at one of the above addresses or telephone numbers if you would like to know more about this series or other publications.

Bible References: AMP = Amplified Bible 1954-1987; NKJV = New King James Version 1982; ESV = English Standard Version 2001; LITV = Literal Translation of the Holy Bible 1976-2000; MSG = The Message Bible 2002; Phillips = The New Testament in Modern English 1958-1972.

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