When the Lord sent me to a small Georgia town
to pioneer a church, I knew very little about the ministry of the
apostle. (Little did I know at the time that He would soon reveal to
me my own apostolic identity.) What I did know – and what I was
absolutely sure of – was that I did not fit the traditional mold of
the five-fold pastor, despite God’s clear direction to become the
overseer of a local church. In obedience to the Spirit of God I
started the church anyway, but as the years went on it became
increasingly obvious that I was unquestionably different from other
pastors I knew.
I often recognized that there was some kind of “disconnect” between
what my congregation expected of me and what I was able to produce.
The people had an image of Jesus standing in a meadow with a little
lamb in His arms and they expected me to relate to them on that
level – like most other pastors they had known. But the Jesus they
found in me portrayed the Lion of the Tribe of Judah more often than
the Good Shepherd.
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When an apostle ministers to people who are expecting a pastoral
grace the minister and the believer get frustrated in a hurry. That
is why identifying the unique ministry gifts of the apostle,
prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher is so important. You can
imagine my relief when God revealed to me that the reason I didn’t
respond like a pastor was because I am not a pastor. I am an
apostle. I am sure my congregation was also thankful when I stopped
trying to be something I was not and instead put true five-fold
pastors on staff to meet their need to be nurtured so that I could
spend my energy building.
That experience taught me a valuable lesson: Identity is vital.
People are killed or imprisoned and many lives are ruined all
because of mistaken identity. Identity indicates a person’s purpose
and role and sets the expectations of others. When one’s identity is
unclear, the outcome is often embarrassment, confusion, frustration,
disappointment, or other unpleasant consequences. Identity is no
less vital in the Body of Christ than it is in the world. We cannot
understand our purpose until we know our identity. Sadly, much of
the Church today suffers from mistaken identity.
In the Apostolic Reformation, God is revealing His five-fold
ministry gifts in a new way so that we can identify the individual
graces and make sure every believer receives what they need to get
fully equipped for the work of the ministry. Identity, then, becomes
a paramount issue during this season of apostolic and prophetic
restoration. Jesus told the woman at the well that if she could
identify the gift of God, she would receive living water (John
4:10). Jesus is not here in the flesh today to give us living water,
but that anointing is still here upon His five-fold ascension gifts.
We must be able to identify them in order to draw from His well.
The revelation of the apostle’s ministry gave me liberty to be what
God called me to be and my congregation now understands and benefits
from the apostolic anointing on my life. Instead of frustration, we
now enjoy the grace. The Apostle Paul wrote much about his own
identity and the identity of the Church. He taught us that we are
members of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). But it is not
enough to know that we need the other members; we must also
understand how we fit together with them. God made us a many-membered
Body. We must give and receive from one another. We will only mature
as we interact with one another and receive a supply from the
joints. The Body grows where two or more members come together.
In order to build the Church of Jesus Christ, every believer needs
to know their identity and be able to identify the function of other
members. Yet, it is especially important that we identify the
five-fold ministry gifts so that we are not trying to draw a
pastoral anointing from a prophet. Proverbs 22:5 says, “Counsel in
the heart of a man is a deep water and a man of understanding will
draw it out.” So it is with the five ministry gifts. Each one of
these gifts is unique with specific giftings, anointings, graces and
wisdom for the members of Christ’s Body and we must identify them so
we can draw effectively.
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If we are unable to properly identify these gifts, we will be trying
to draw out of them things they are not capable of giving. We will
in effect try to receive a pastoral anointing from the prophet, an
evangelistic anointing from a teacher, or an apostolic anointing
from a pastor and so on. Having the ability to recognize ministry
gifts in order to benefit from them is a principle found in the Word
of God.
The Bible says, “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a
prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a
righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a
righteous man’s reward (Matthew 10:41). Notice that the prophet is
received in the name of a prophet. The outcome for those who receive
the prophet in the name of a prophet is a prophet’s reward. What,
then is a prophet’s reward? Simply put, the prophet’s reward is the
benefit of the prophet’s ministry. When you receive the prophet in
the name of a prophet, you will receive the benefit of the prophet’s
ministry. Contrarily, when you don’t receive the prophet you get the
reward of doubt and unbelief – little or nothing.
Jesus’ ministry was limited in His own country and among his own kin
because they did not receive Him as a prophet: “And when he was come
into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch
that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this
wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is
not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and
Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence
then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him.
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in
his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty
works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:54-58.)
Their unbelief halted Jesus’ ministry. They were unwilling to
believe that He was an Old Testament prophet. They did, however,
believe something. They believed that Jesus was the carpenter’s son.
That Mary was His mother, and that James, Joseph, Simon and Judas
were His brothers. Their failure to properly identify Jesus’ office
of ministry somewhat frustrated the grace of God on His life.
I have several friends who are prophets and it seems that every time
I talk to them they are frustrated because the people they minister
to only know how to draw from the grace of the pastor, evangelist or
teacher. Therefore, they are only able to flow in a measure of their
anointing. Limited or misunderstood knowledge of the prophet’s grace
not only leaves the prophet feeling unfulfilled, but the Body of
Christ does not receive the full benefit of this much-needed gift.
The way we receive a person’s gift determines what we receive from
them. Identity is critical. Why do you call a pastor “pastor?” It is
simply to identify the ministry office in which he stands. Apostles
and prophets do not force themselves on others. You have to receive
them as apostles and prophets before you can benefit from them. The
title is only there to identify the gift and calling in the
individual. The title itself is not what is important. What is
important is that we recognize and draw from all the ministry gifts
so the equipping of the saints might become a reality, not something
we just talk about but never do. Again, it is not about the title;
it is about identity.
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If we do not recognize and esteem each of the ministry gifts, then
we are robbing ourselves and ultimately the entire Body of Christ
also. Remember that these ministry gifts have something that we all
need for our equipping (Ephesians 4:11-15). All five of these gifts
were given “until” we all come into the unity of the faith and that
“until” has not yet manifested. The Body of Christ has not reached
“the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Since this
has not happened, we still need all five ministry gifts in operation
today. The Church will not be matured without them all.
In this day, God is restoring the ministry of the apostle back to
His Church so that the apostolic anointing can be imparted to
believers. Without the apostolic grace the saints cannot be fully
equipped for the work of the ministry and the Church cannot reach
maturity in Him. If we are going to see God’s will accomplished in
the earth, we must set our hearts to receive and draw from the gifts
God has given us. What about you? Will you receive an apostle’s
reward?
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