Common Feature of True Kingdom Ministries

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Praying in private with his disciples one day, Jesus suddenly asked, "Who do people say that I am?" The disciples' answers were quite revealing---John the baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. Jesus' ministry looked like the ministries of the prophets, and vice versa. They all looked alike to people. They all had the common feature of true Kingdom ministries.

The common feature is God's DNA. The present move of God.



Among God's Kingdom dynamics on earth was the prophet, priest and king threesome teamwork. These are all features of God's DNA. Jesus embodies all three of them. The king and priests worked together in nation building and governance while the prophet provided them direction. Since Paul said that the dominant work of an apostle is laying down the foundation "as an expert builder," the king and priests in the Old Testament functioned somewhat in the apostolic.

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So the triad operated in the apostolic-prophetic. Then God did a new move in David. David operated on all three anointings. One person carried all three. He was king, priest and prophet. He was a harbinger of things to come, which was the ministry of Jesus. From the family line of David came Jesus Christ, but Jesus carried all three anointings in unprecedented Kingdom power.

This is why we need to receive Jesus Christ into our bodies---to have the three-prong anointing fully operational in us. Receiving Jesus is primarily for salvation, but it's also for Kingdom ministry---for Kingdom Come purposes and to build the glorious church of Jesus Christ. This Kingdom church cannot be built up except through God's DNA using the apostolic-prophetic anointing in Christ. It's all supernatural, nothing of human effort or brilliance.

We don't have to go along with the world and attract people to our churches using worldly ways and standards. No need for any gimmick. No need to lure people with our nice buildings, facilities, elaborate programs, instruments and comfy seats. We have the full backing of the Holy Spirit power in the three-prong anointing and that's all we need, really. We need to genuinely hear from the Spirit. We have to go back to having God's imagination.

The true church can only be built by Christ himself. He said, "On this rock I will build my church." It cannot be built by human ways, desire, effort, and intellect. It cannot be built in the ways and standards of this world. It can only be built by God's ways---through the apostolic-prophetic anointing in Christ.

It's Christ in us the hope of glory. It's all spiritual and supernatural. Anything you build outside this realm is NOT Jesus' church. Impressive and successful, yes. Peopled and moneyed, yes. But it's not what Jesus is coming back for.

It should be Christ in us (led solely by the Holy Spirit) doing the church ministry and building the Kingdom on earth.

This explains why Jesus' ministry had striking similarities with John the baptist's ministry, and with Elijah's and the prophets'. One look and the people saw how they were identical. They mistook one for the other. They had the same DNA. These ministries didn't look anything like the ministries of the high priest, law teachers, and Pharisees---leaders of men's "bible-based" religion. Judaism was bible-based but human led nonetheless. It didn't have the common feature of true Kingdom ministries.

After you do a ministry, ask yourself: who do people say that Jesus is? Often, we do ministries so we can have an impact on people. And in our subconscious, we wonder what the people think about us or our church. But Kingdom ministries think about what people think about Jesus. Do they see Jesus as the Christ when they look at our ministry? Do they get a supernatural revelation of Jesus? Or do they see nothing but man's church or religion?



Do they see us as Jesus' church, or just another man's church or religious association or organization, no different from the Rotary Club or Kiwanis or other NGOs? Are they reminded of God's prophets and the prophetic move of God in the bible? Or are we just another relief organization operating in the earthly realms? It was imperative that Jesus asked, "Who do people say that I am?"

And it's imperative, too, that we possess the common feature of true Kingdom ministries in the bible to set us apart from earthly ones. We're called to be aliens and strangers in this world. We must represent the Kingdom, and thus we must possess its features as seen in the ministries of Jesus and the prophets. One look at us and people know that we are unmistakably from God (not of this world), coming straight from HIS Kingdom, and not just another man-made "Christian" religion, church or ministry.

UNSEEN GOSPEL: And even if our gospel is unseen, it is unseen to those who are perishing. [2 Corinthians 4.3]

Short Prayer that Caught Jesus' Full Attention

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Short is powerful. Jesus' prayers were short. I remember him multiplying loaves of bread and fish to feed 5,000. It was an astounding miracle. If we were to do it, we'd probably say a long, poetic and dramatic prayer. But not Jesus. All he did was look up and say thanks. Not surprisingly, he also seemed to favor short prayers from others. Here's a short prayer that caught Jesus' full attention.

After going down the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus and his core disciples saw a commotion. First, his disciples were arguing with some teachers of the law. Second, a boy was demon-possessed and his disciples failed to dislodge it. The boy's dad complained.

“Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” [Luke 9]

Short is Often Led

It was a short prayer that caught Jesus' full attention. He reprimanded his disciples at once for bungling on the job. The concise 15-second prayer got immediate attention from heaven. Jesus had the boy brought to him and rebuked the demon. A few moments later, the boy was completely healed. Short and heartfelt prayer is powerful.

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I timed it. I said the man's words naturally and timed it. It took only 15 seconds. Matthew's record of the "prayer" took 10 seconds. If I were to pray for this boy, it'd probably take me a minute or two, and I'd probably choose poetic and noble-sounding words to produce some drama. Well, actually I quit saying long prayers like that decades ago when I saw how Jesus prayed, though I still tend to say wordy prayers now and then.

It's really how the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. It may be long or short. The point is, do not make any formula. Be led. And take note how effective prayers were made in the bible. You'd notice they were short. And always make Jesus your model. He is the WAY. And Jesus said short but heartfelt prayers. So I always opt for short and heartfelt (I guess that's how the Spirit leads me), like this short prayer that caught Jesus' full attention.

Was That a Prayer?

Not many preachers see the man's statement here as prayer. It's an unseen Gospel, seen only by those who see in the Spirit. To many, prayer should be preceded by, "Let us pray." And then we close our eyes and start our declamation. And we modulate our voices and make it sound like something exclusive to the 1930's or 1950's and put some drama to it. I don't know why some folks have to modulate their voices. Can't we use our natural tone in prayer?

Any request made to God is a prayer. As simple as that. Some insist that prayers should follow the ACTS formula---it must have adoration, confession, supplication and thanksgiving. Well, this man's prayer was not ACTS-formulated but it caught Jesus' attention pronto. The man simply came to Jesus and said his petition. I admire the natural way it was all done. I can imagine how he didn't have to modulate his voice or close his eyes or say, "Let us pray."

Two Types of Complaints

The man "complained" in his prayer, not in the sense of complaining against God, but complaining about the wrong done to his boy by the demon. He practically squealed on the devil. We see this type of prayer a lot in Psalms where the psalmist complained to God about the wrongs done to him by other people.

Well, one of Jeremiah's prayers was a complaint against God. He accused God of "deceiving" him by being a "deceptive brook," [15.18]. God corrected him and urged him to repent at once.

“If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman."

I often find comfort in prayer complaints as a form of seeking refuge in God, telling on the world, the devil and the cruelty of religious people who hate the present move of God and the unseen Gospel. I run to God and tell him everything. In person you often see me in good spirits, cool, patient, tolerant, broadminded and unaffected by adversity. And I usually am. You'd very seldom see me angry. But deep inside I always want to run to God and seek refuge. He's like a tower to me when I'm under attack. I fall on his laps and cry in my spirit.

And often I don't say long and high-sounding prayers. I just cry and moan and whisper short telegraphic messages most times. In times when I'm okay, I often just sit with God by my side and we'd both look afar, quietly musing, aware that he knows. I may tell him some things in whispers or in mental conversations, sometimes in audible casual talks, too, always aware how this dad in the passage petitioned for his kid in a short prayer that caught Jesus' full attention.

UNSEEN GOSPEL: And even if our gospel is unseen, it is unseen to those who are perishing. [2 Corinthians 4.3]

How the Smallest of All Seeds Becomes the Largest

God thinks big, but he does that by thinking small. He knows the potentials of "small." With small, we easily focus on the few details that really matter, uncluttered by nonessentials which often occupy big spaces and dominates the whole screen or stage. Small keeps us accurately faithful to God and his Kingdom. Big tends to overwhelm us with nonessentials. That's how the smallest of all seeds becomes the largest of all garden plants in God's Kingdom.

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Then God grows us big. Remember, real growth in the Kingdom comes only from God, not us or anything we do. Growth manipulated by our hands may get applause in this world but never in God's Kingdom. It's merely vanity. So God wants us to stop thinking of our imagined greatness and just focus on accurate faithfulness. We keep our focus on the few really important things that matter.

How Small Grows

First, it needs to be planted, buried in the ground. In the soil it dies. Jesus said, unless a seed dies it remains a single seed. But when it dies, then it has the potential to increase. In fact, "the largest."

"(God's Kingdom) like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” [Mark 4]

Don't think this is just about numerical growth. It could be, but the real point here is the growth of the Kingdom, and that Kingdom is within you, said Jesus [Luke 17.21]. Jesus added that, often, it's not something seen by the naked eyes, so that you say "Here or there it is." It's spiritual growth. The Kingdom in you grows but physically people may not see it.

A Mustard "Tree"?

I mean, do mustard seeds really grow into big trees? I have planted mustard seeds in my gardening days and I know for a fact they never grow into big trees. But it happens spiritually in the Kingdom, for everything impossible is possible there, and everything weird here is normal there. Real Kingdom growth is like that. It's spiritual. It happens within you. A "growing" church in the Spirit should be seen this way, not through membership size, income, programs or facilities.

In fact, it's an abnormal seed. It's not normal in this world for a mustard seed to become a tree, but it's the norm in the Kingdom. Real Kingdom churches are "smallest" in people's eyes---particularly the eyes of natural men---and it's how the smallest of all seeds becomes the largest of all garden plants in God's Kingdom. The least is the greatest. That's among powerful Kingdom principles in Jesus' unseen Gospel.

That's why often I say, the true church in Christ is abnormal.

Seed Becomes Shade

Then the tree from the small seed becomes a shade or covering. Genuine Kingdom people and churches who maintain Kingdom meekness serve as spiritual covering or protection for people connected to them in the Spirit. They become "big branches" that support people who find them a secure place to perch on, providing ample and protective shade. So people naturally seek refuge in them.

And didn't Jesus, the true Vine, explain how we are branches attached to him? In a sense, Jesus is the Kingdom within us. He was like a tiny, small, minuscule, unimpressive seed---seen like that by big-time religious leaders who thought they were somebody. But Jesus grew to unseemly proportions after dying and rising (or planted), although mortals hardly saw it that way. They still belittled Jesus and mistreated his ragtag church after he left.

But to real Godly men, the Kingdom spread and advanced even if to most people it perished in the persecutions. Later, some men started their own churches which were worlds different from what Jesus had introduced and started, again belittling the smallest of all seeds and preferring large ones. In fact, to this day, many treat that seed outmoded or irrelevant (worse, even persecuted), though given utmost importance and kept in glass frames in magnificent museums called "church buildings" where God's things are kept sacred (but unused).

Small is Big to God

Definitely, God wants all men to be saved [1 Tim.2.4], and wants us to "compel" folks from the outskirts of town to attend and eat his banquet "so that my house will be full," [Luke 14], but he nonetheless wants us to keep small---because small is big to him. Small though big. Big though small. (I love these Kingdom reversals!). Have you seen a big-time rich guy acting like a small-time, low-profile, simple, common folk? In fact, like a poor Nazarene carpenter? That's the idea. And that's how the smallest of all seeds becomes the largest of all garden plants in God's Kingdom.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” [Zechariah 4.10]

The Work has small beginnings, and it grows enormously inside while appearing small. And it's not the physical size that matters but the "plumb line" held in "Zerubbabel's hand." That plum line ensures accuracy in the Work, making sure everything is according to God's Kingdom patterns alone. Zerubbabel (symbolic of God's servants in his temple, which is our bodies) should focus on this alone, not on physical size, income, programs, or what-have-you. These are merely added when we focus on the smallest of seeds.

[Continued]

UNSEEN GOSPEL: 

And even if our gospel is unseen, it is unseen to those who are perishing. [2 Corinthians 4.3]

How Moses Brings You Closer to Jesus

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If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say? [Jn.5]

I find it odd that a lot of young Christians today barely understand what Jesus says in the Gospel. All they get from reading the Gospel are historic accounts of what happened to the historic Jesus, not real-time fresh and powerful Word from God for the present---the spoken Word of God that demolishes the strongholds of Satan. Jesus gave us a hint why---most Christians today don't take the Old Testament seriously. So, much of the Gospel remain Unseen Gospel to them.

Honestly, I haven't met any young Christian today who seriously studies the Old Testament, even those very active in their churches. And what the majority of them know in the Gospel is that God loves them, in John 3:16.  Yes, that passage is important and powerful, but it's a different thing if all you know about the New Testament is John 3:16 and other basics like it.

We have to meditate the Word day and night. That's God's will. And Paul told the Ephesians not to be foolish but know what God's will is. That means taking the whole bible seriously, not just John 3:16. 

And Jesus gives us a powerful hint in John 5---if we don't take the Old Testament seriously, we will never understand what the Lord Jesus Christ wants us to do. Taking Moses seriously means we also take Jesus seriously. Moses wrote about Jesus. I mean, yeah, Moses wrote about their 40-year journey in the wilderness, their experience at Mt. Sinai and about the Tabernacle, but it was really all about Jesus. If you don't see Jesus in what Moses wrote, you will have serious problems trying to know Jesus in the Gospel.

Much of the Gospel will be unseen to you.

A lot of church people never take the Old Testament seriously. It's because they don't believe it's important. They think living by faith, not by works of the law, means you can ignore the Old Testament altogether. But listen to Jesus tell it himself---not believing that what Moses wrote is important means not believing that what Jesus says in the Gospel is important.

It is impossible to believe wholeheartedly what Jesus is saying if we ignore the Old Testament. 

The details of the Tabernacle, for instance, and how it was to be constructed are all reflective of the works of Jesus. The animal sacrifices at the altar, the altar of incense in the Holy of Holies, the division between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, the lampstand, the shew bread, the table, the incense smoke, the ark, etc. all point to Jesus and his ministry.

When the curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was torn when Jesus died, for instance, it marked the beginning of direct access to the Throne. Hence, Paul said we should approach the Throne of Grace with confidence. Back in the Old Testament, this curtain was important because it kept the priests from seeing God's glory directly and dying. 

But that curtain was torn when Jesus died. Meaning, we can now go directly to God, see his glory and still be alive.

Yet, so many believers today remain in fear, not daring to approach God right at his Throne as sons and daughters and talk to him directly. This fear is expressed through the formal worship programs and rituals they do in church and the way everything is done with extreme religiosity that you cannot appear before God anymore as your free, happy, true self. I don't know why every face has to look serious and sad and formal. Even the way they speak is so formal, like how people in funerals would speak. And their voices have to be modulated.

They still do it as the priests and Levites did it in the Old Testament---one mistake and you're dead.

Of course, there should be reverence and awe in the way we freely approach God because he is God and holy and majestic. He is Almighty God. But that doesn't mean we have to look sad and formal and very religious. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but we should not remain in the beginning. Higher level of faith says, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. 

The Israelites dealt with God in fear so they didn't want to get close to God. But Moses was different. He approached God freely and just as he was, without the pretensions of religion. He talked with God as he would a friend. There was no formality or program or ritual. No modulated voice. No serious religious talk. And yet his respect and reverence for God was highly acceptable to the Lord. This was a harbinger of what Jesus would introduce to true worshipers who worship in spirit and in truth. 

Everything inside the Tabernacle and the Temple was of gold, but outside were of bronze---the bronze sea, altar, basins, and utensils. Bronze is a likeness of gold. You only see gold during worship if you are able to confidently access the Throne of Grace. If you remain outside, all you see is bronze---a copy or likeness of what is in God's very awesome presence. 

Today, church worship enjoys only a copy or pattern of what is in heaven. The way church is today---immature, carnal, divided, self-centered and earthly---church people might take God's gold and sell it for their denominations' sake if they are allowed inside. So all they are permitted to see is the bronze outside, for now. And they think that bronze is the highest worship already. They don't think there's anything higher. Most of them don't believe there's still a place deeper where everything is God's gold.

Christ is the end of the law. Meditate the Old Testament---it is very much a part of God's Word. Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament makes us see clearly the Unseen Gospel in the New Testament.

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UNSEEN GOSPEL: And even if our gospel is unseen, it is unseen to those who are perishing. [2 Corinthians 4.3]

When GOD Increases Something

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How do you know an increase is directly from God? A lot of  increases or promotions are results of human effort. Yes, God permits them, but they aren't purely his action or will. It's mere permissive will. Always go for God's direct action, like an increase purely from him.

Remember when Saul became king? It was human effort and human will. The prophet Samuel knew it wasn't right, but God allowed it anyway, to teach the Israelites a lesson about choosing man's will over God's will. At first, Israel was blessed with King Saul. The rest is history.

Jesus fed 5,000 men. If we include the women and children, it probably numbered 10,000. Imagine feeding that many. The available resources were just few small loaves and few fish. He needed an increase. So what did he do? He didn't use human effort, wisdom, talent or skill. He just looked up to heaven and thanked the Father.

You see that? Few people have the spiritual eyes to see that. It's unseen gospel to many. Here was a situation needing huge urgent increase. From meager resources, Jesus' ministry needed exponential increase. We find ourselves faced with situations like that in ministry. We have little resources but are faced with gargantuan tasks. What do we do? Often, we solicit money. We beg. Church is so comfortable with that.

Or, we do a concert and sell tickets. Just like what the world does, especially show business. Some churches even go to politicians and ask for money, especially during election season. And these things work. They're effective. I know a church that built a huge building structure via solicitations. See how effective?

But Jesus NEVER did any of that.

When he needed an urgent increase, he simply looked up to heaven and thanked the Father. And somewhere, he said, "Anyone who has faith in me will do the same things I am doing." Well, so far, no church has ever done that. They all beg money or solicit when they need a huge increase. It only means one thing---they do not have faith in Christ. They serve him but do it with their own effort.

How do churches increase membership?

They usually exert desperate efforts to grab as many people as possible into their membership. I know churches that give dole outs and later collect back from their recipients. They give but later require people to attend their churches. Some offer "free" services but later collect the names and addresses of recipients for "follow up" later. These are all effective. They do increase membership. But problem is, Jesus and his apostles never did them.

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And we should take a hint from Jesus. To get God's increase, he merely looked up to heaven and thanked the Father. Ministry is designed by God to be simple, all by faith. Jesus proved it. Do you see it? Or is this an unseen gospel to you?

UNSEEN GOSPEL: And even if our gospel is unseen, it is unseen to those who are perishing. [2 Corinthians 4.3]