God’s Plan To Build The Church
I encourage everyone to soak up this week’s “Weekly Word,” written by my spiritual father and pastor of over 35 years, Andy Taylor. I consider Andy to be one of the foremost authorities on the 5-Fold Ministry and God’s plan for building His church. He is currently teaching a series out of Ephesians 4 on the “5-Fold Ministry: Equipping the Saints and Edifying the Body.” You can visit Trinity in person on Sunday mornings at 10 am in Sayre, Ok. You can also watch it live or catch up at any time on the Trinity Fellowship Facebook page. Please take a moment to dive in; I promise you’ll enjoy it!
Pastor Jason
Ephesians 4:11-13 – “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 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;….”
Ephesus, during the time of Paul’s letter, was one of the largest and wealthiest cites in the Roman Empire. But, it was a city that was steeped in pagan worship, occult practices and demonic activity. The Temple of Diana, considered at that time to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was located there. The spiritual darkness and depravity in Ephesus had descended to such a degree that ritualistic sex acts and prostitution was routinely practiced in the Temple. Debauchery and immorality was rampant in all of society, ….and there was no cure!
But, God always has a plan; always has, always will! Paul’s dramatic conversion and the ensuing mandate put before him by Jesus, Himself, to bring this new organism, called ‘the church’ to the known world would be the only solution to the blackness and sheer hopelessness the entire world was trapped in with no foreseeable way out.
In chapter four of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul lays out the Lord’s plan of how the Church would break through the darkness to bring light, hope and life to the world. It also seems important to note that Paul’s message of the resurrection of Jesus, His grace, and the Kingdom of God wasn’t anything he conjured up on his own. Much to the contrary. In fact, in his letter to the Galatians, he stated, “I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel, “I will build My church and the gates of hell won’t prevail against it.” His plan all along was to build the church through willing individuals. In the first century, ….Paul was ‘that guy’ to set those things in order, and to reveal the blueprint that would be in effect perpetually, until Jesus comes back!
It might be normal for people to think this plan is archaic and outdated, especially since it was written a couple thousand years ago. But, not so! The plan is as relevant today as it was when it was written generations ago, and in my mind, ….even more so.
The ministries of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher (fivefold ministry) are given to the church for, 1) For the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry 2) For the edifying of the Body of Christ.
But, to the meager degree the Bible Belt church has responded to this principle it seems that it has been either unknown, under-emphasized or totally ignored in he current religious landscape, in favor of other so-called, church growth methods. But, things are changing now at a grassroots level that will, undoubtedly have global ramifications. The Lord is breathing on this, I think like never before! The true Church is emerging at a rate I’ve not seen in my thirty-five year run as a spiritual leader.
We’re now living in a time of what I see as the greatest awakening of all-time. I’ve been teaching this message for thirty-five years. But now, the Kingdom of God is appearing like never before. It’s happening everywhere and anywhere the Lord is allowed to do it His way.
Make no mistake; No one can orchestrate it; no one can manage it. *(shame on those who think they can!) But, what we can do is listen to what He’s saying, figure out what we need to do to cooperate with Him, do our part, then stay out of His way.
There’ll be no ‘big shots’ in this move of God. It’s a move orchestrated through the foot soldiers, those whose hearts are wholly given to the Father, ….those who are called, understand what it means to equip the saints and are willing to do so….and those who are willing to be equipped.
On a practical level, here’s what must happen:
For Leaders:
1) If the Father doesn’t have your whole heart…your life and ministry will be wasted! You’ll have squandered your greatest opportunity to actually see the Kingdom of God in its truest and most powerful form
2) No longer is hearing the voice of God optional, it’s mandatory and non-negotiable!
3) Those called to fivefold-ministry (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher) must answer the call, learn and understand what that means, get in their place and begin to function there by equipping their people for ministry, rather than just ‘coming up with a good sermon’!
For the Individual:
- Develop your relationship with the Father – – It’s the KEY to your life!
- You must get out of the mode of ‘getting fed’ and not doing anything with it. Babies need to be fed; adults feed themselves! So, grow up!
- Get in the process NOW to be equipped and to find your area(s) of gifting and anointing
- Ask for, and go through the open doors of ministry the Father opens. You’ll never learn if you don’t start. The Kingdom needs you NOW!
- Stay faithful and consistent! There’s no substitute.
- Watch out for pride! We’re all at risk!
The opportunities have never been greater!
The finest hour of the Church is upon us!
What will YOU do?
AT
Books: “Reading Your Bible for All It’s Worth”
“The Best Kept Secrets in the Kingdom”
Podcast: “The Kingdom Cowboy Podcast”
We are talking God’s Plan To Build The Church this Sunday in Ephesians 4 at CCF! You’re invited to get a more detailed and in-depth experience of The Weekly Word by visiting CCF in person @ 10:30 on Sunday mornings or by watching our recorded weekly live stream at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077509153647
Let’s build Kingdom Community!
I welcome and encourage you to post your comments in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Article by
Andy Taylor
Senior Pastor/Apostolic Leader Trinity Fellowship
Great word, as usual, AT! Spot on!