Stewardship the foundation

Of apostolic leadership

Matt 24:45-51

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. NIV

Stewardship is defined as the ability to manage another person’s property, finance or household. Scriptures like this immediately call ones attention to re-evaluate how we’ve been   managing God’s resources and household. It is so easy for those who are not in what could be termed as frontline leaders to quickly exempt themselves from scripture like this.  But you should understand the scripture refers to your body as the house [temple} of God. This is to say that accurate stewardship starts with how you lead yourself. You can’t exempt leadership from self governance. The true is the type of leadership that will make great impact in the community starts from one’s ability to manage yourself. This includes your attitude, emotions dreams relationships.  Stewardship starts with internal government.

To the sooner you realize that leadership is given to change your own life first before imposing it’s principles on others, you will continue to abuse your position and authority to lead.  Accountability to the inner dealings of the Spirit helps a great deal to lead others in truth, fairness and love. How many times have we displayed the very same attitude of this wicked servant who totally forgot he was also chosen as steward over the household of his master. Abusing or misusing the power, authority or other resources in our care is a sign of weak leadership and inner dis-functionality.

This day calls for a new reappraiser of our commitment and faithfulness towards that which the Spirit has committed into our hands. Firstly, it should be clear that there is a household- realm of life we’ve been called to function as individual or as the corporate body of Christ. Understanding our hierarchies and marching order within the context of the present move of the Spirit is highly crucial to the success of our mission. Grace and anointing are given for various assignments that only get to function properly as we corporately realize our interconnections to each other’s spirituality. We’ve been put in charge of various important posts that demand the right spirit and {character} attitude in using them to achieve the desired plan of the Father. Misplaced priority has caused unnecessary pain within the Body of Christ and I do believe that as we start correcting the wrong view to leadership in regards to stewardship we shall advance the kingdom of God in the earth.

A wrong perception of leadership position becomes detrimental to the people we are called to lead or influence for God. When we fail to realize that what we presently have no matter how small or large belongs to God we give the enemy room to snick into our heart by sawing the seed of pride. Do we know that we’ve been called into the ministry of stewardship? Do we understand we are going to give account of the resources placed in our care? It is wisdom not to forget to regularly remind ourselves that we are the Lords steward and we’ve been given lives, time, money family, ministry and relationship and other thing to manage on behalf of God. First it’s important to reestablish the fact that whatever resource is in our possession belongs to the kingdom o God and how we use those resources both human and capital is highly important to God.

 

Pathway to Christian service

One of the qualities of leadership and Christian service is the ability to commit oneself to faithfulness even when it’s not convenient. Faithfulness and loyalty under immersed pressure attracts spiritual reward. The value of true leadership is not what is done under supervision but bringing to pass the task at hand even when you are not seen. Loyalty is faithfulness and commitment added together. Many have tried to be committed but under great pressure they back down. While others have passed the point of merely been committed in their duties because they understood the reward ahead, so they will do anything through their share ability not to seen uncommitted.  To the degree of your commitment to in the worlds system is to the degree you are rewarded even if your commitment is toward something diabolical.

 

Pressing beyond faithfulness

Num 12:6-8

When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions; I speak to him in dreams. 7 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.  8 With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” NIV

Here we see again God making a clear distinction of the quality of his servants. There is no doubt of the high standard and quality demanded of anyone who is going to be God’s spokes man. The ministry of the prophet is one of the most complex offices of the five ascended ministries anyone can attain. Seasons upon seasons to be groomed as one, yet the Lord made it clear that even the prophetic ministry is limited to the kind of grace and calling upon the life of Moses. Moses was more than a prophet. The kind of relationship the Lord had with him surpassed all his predecessors.

He was a man of God’s presence. The Lord spoke with him face to face; it has never been seen in human history that the almighty spoke to a mortal face to face.  What a moment Moses had with the Father!  Moses was faithful in his entire house. He knew what he was called to do and the administrative resource and capacity within the people he was sent to lead was employed without insecurity.  Fear and insecurity in the call and grace upon our lives is what makes most time behave in an improper way to our brothers. The position of faithfulness pushes you from depending on your strength and ability to Gods inner guiding voice.

When you move pass commitment into the realm of being faithful the whole demand and process of your spiritual structure {life} changes. You can’t be faithful without doing the right thing with the right motive. At this point you are not merely rewarded for your duties but for the quality of heart you employ in the doing.  Faithfulness requires your faith in action, your trust in position, your obedience to the voice of the master continually, encouragement to those you are called to lead, resilient and determination to keep fighting even when it’s like you are about to fail the war. These are some of the characters of faithfulness which proceeds on to lay the foundation of the third dimension of true leadership quality called loyalty. This is the beginning of the journey to what we can call ascended spiritual stewardship {leadership}

The life’s quality of loyalty surpasses the beauty of both the ministry of commitment and faithfulness. It’s a quality of leadership that lives in the world of its own. Nothing can be compare to a heart fully loyal to the Father’s command. Loyalty surpasses what you do, it is who you are! This is the point where many iconic leaders in the bible made their mark. Unfortunately very few leaders in our time comprehend the value and glory behind loyalty. Loyalty does not reward what a person sees and approves, rather it the heart that followers the precise pattern and direction of the Spirit no matter how insignificant it may look to the ordinary eyes!

 

 

Platform for the next generation of leadership

Leaders make leadership-the position. Leadership is an act that can be imparted through highly disciplined training and great things can be achieved but even this does not qualify anyone to be a leader. When you study history and scripture you’ll understand what I am trying to convey. The best of the best brain in leadership have turned to become the worst dictators ever lived because the philosophy or template of their leadership was accurately positioned.  You might have understudied a greater great leaders even our lord Jesus Christ without capturing the very life and Spirit of his leadership. Nobody can teach you to be a leader; you can be well informed on the various disciplines and strategic of effective leadership. The ministry of a leader is completely different from that of leading; when you know what to say, how to say it, who to say it to, you can successfully practice leadership.

To be a leader you need to be imparted with the Spirit of truth which then guides you through the three main stages of leadership maturity. These stages are commitment, faithfulness and loyalty.  The third dimension is where the revelation of the life and nature of Christ starts gaining expressing through your lifestyle. This is not about what people see you do, it who you in your leadership call before Hi who sees all thing. Your entire being at this point reflects the both the beauty and authority of a born leader. You must be born-again to display this quality of leadership.  This is what Moses, Joseph, David, Daniel Jesus all reflected to their generation. The need is not what makes them leaders but who they are from within.   They don’t need the title or position to function as one they have been born again to leader!

 

 

The honor of leading God’s servants

To gain access into this realm of spiritual existence, you and I will have to go through the first and second level of our faith’s journey through the tabernacle. Commitment is the entrance door while faithfulness leads us into the holy place. Most leaders stop at the holy place of their journey while forgetting they have one more lap to go. The only place you can start gaining the true life of a steward is in the place of loyalty. You have lost all hidden interest to rape or take advantage of what is committed under your leadership. Your perception to the anointing and glory of ministry becomes redefined through the elevated sight of stewardship.

Those designed to carry the honor of leading the servants {leaders} of God in this end time ministry are those who have left the position of trying to be committed and faithful concerning the demand of the Spirit. Their entire live is completely sold out to seeing the will and desire of the kingdom become manifest in their world. They are not into ministry leadership to take advantage of God’s children; they are ready to spend and be spent on the altar of sacrifice. Their mission is gone beyond using spiritual gift to empress followers, they have come to the place of death to every self hidden glory.

The scripture above gives clear insight and direction toward the kind of quality of men and women the Lord is searching for in this season. The first point alighted through the voice of the master himself is that faithfulness goes alongside with wisdom. The glory of the apostolic which is wisdom is reinforced through ones commitment to faithfulness. Like I have earlier said, it’s not enough to just do {build} things, the heart condition places a major rule in the dimension of faithfulness. There is no doubt, the Church of the Lord is sustained and developed through the accurate leadership quality.

To carry out any major spiritual mission the first thing the Lord does is to find who is worthy of the mission. Leadership is the bedrock of kingdom advance. The Lord is very particular about the type of people that will represent his purpose on earth. We saw how meticulous the Lord was when he sent his prophet to anoint the next leader of Israel in the house of Jess. Though the best of his sons were paraded but none of them were chosen except the one not invited to the party. The Lord will not jeopardize his mission by assuming leadership. Leadership is a major issue in the heart of the Father and he takes careful time to prepare and groom his chosen man or woman.

For some to suggest the last day move of the Spirit don’t need human leadership structure because it is the season of the Holy Spirit is not only heretic but a complete misrepresentation of the entire principle of the Church ministry. Right from the beginning of the creation of man we’ve seen the Lord used mortal men in leading his purposes and desire to the next frontier. Even after the fall the Lord did not to calling and training men for his use. To desire to be use of God but not willing to submit under set leadership is unscriptural and not be stop. God’s Spirit uses ordinary people who have submitted themselves to the apostolic leadership of put in place. However we’ve also seen the complete abuse of leadership authority and power in the church for the past two decades, and I do believe this account to one of the reasons why many today have become skeptic of so called men of God.

The issue of balancing of leadership in the body of Christ needs to be accurately taught so that people are not unduly taken advantage of all in the many of being spiritual. Christians need to realize that leaders in the Church no matter how anointed they seem are still fallible. The Priest according to Hebrews chapter 5 is to be taken from his nativity. No priest is allowed to be imported; he must be a known people from the community he grow up. This is strategic for several reasons; one he can’t boast that it’s his superiority of character that got him the position, it’s all God’s grace.  Neither can they people deny the power of lifestyle manifesting through his priesthood as he represents the community before the Lord. This principle is designed to entice the people out of their false lifestyle into the right pattern of living.