A QUESTION TO THINK

zoe ministries

GL Garden 01-21-02, Solok Paya Terubong 8, 11060 Penang, Malaysia

House Phone: 604-8277554 Hand Phone: 60165318276.

Email: cvs3zoe@yahoo.com

Ephesians 4:11-12 (NKJV) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,



Dear Friends,

I have a question for you to think.



I wonder how many of the 21st century churches will invite Jesus to their Church Growth Conferences or even to the local church pulpits?



The Jesus we celebrate today; if He is here like two thousand years ago [flesh and blood] walking among us and ministering among us; Will we, pastors of local churches invite Him to speak. Will we invite Him to be our Church Growth Conference speaker?



John 6:66 (NKJV) 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.



Many of Jesus' disciples could not accept Jesus' teaching and they left Him. This will not be accepted as successful ministry.



John 7:5 (NKJV) 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.



Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in Jesus. His own family members could not accept Jesus’ ministry. His healing and deliverance ministry is accepted but His teaching is not accepted.



John 8:52 (NKJV) 52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’



Matthew 12:24 (NKJV) 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”



His own people including the pastors felt He had a demon in HIM and that He casts out demons by the power of Satan.



Matthew 21:23 (NKJV) 23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”



The senior pastor and his pastoral team questioned Jesus' authority.



Matthew 21:42 (NKJV) 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?



The MOST important stone for building a building was rejected and the whole building is going to collapse.



Luke 10:16 (NKJV) 16 He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”



Those who reject the true messengers reject God.



Friends if the local churches every where does not honor and receive Jesus and His sent ones then everything they are building is going to collapse. It is not just saying words like “Jesus is Lord of this Church” “Jesus is Lord”. It is not the “right talk” but going further than that and “walk the talk”. Today there are many politicians who are saying all the right things but when it comes to action...

We cannot blame the world because they do not have the truth but the Church and Church leaders have the truth. They are without excuse. The Church not only needs to speak the truth but also live the truth. Many in the Church love lies more than truth and they are putting themselves under bondage again. They protect their pulpits from God and His sent ones. They protect their church from God with their policies, traditions and themes.



I believe today’s churches will welcome with open hands ministers like Jonah [give him 5 star treatment] who has proven ministry [successful ministry]. Through Jonah’s ministry a whole city repented.

But off course you know Jonah and his heart condition. Well that really does not matter as long as the attendance in our church services increases –that’s all matters.



Friends, let us receive the true messengers of God and the truth that they bring. Then the Church will be set free from lies and will be protected from deception.



Blessings



Christopher.K

9/11/2010

Perfectly Weak

Perfectly Weak
by Francis Frangipane


According to the Scriptures, Moses was "educated in all the learning of the Egyptians." Indeed, as a prince in Egypt, Moses had grown to be a "man of power in words and deeds" (Acts 7:22). Thus, it is hard to equate this eloquent and cultured man with the stammering shepherd who, at 80 years old, was overwhelmed with his inadequacies, so much so that he pleaded with God to choose someone else.

Consider: The Lord took a self-assured world leader and reduced his opinion of himself until he possessed no confidence. And it was in this state of mind that God decided to use him. Having been thoroughly convinced of his unfitness for leadership, Moses was now qualified to lead.

Remarkably, the Lord would ultimately reveal Himself to Moses (and all Israel as well) as Jehovah-Rapha: "I am the Lord that healeth thee." Yes, God is our healer, yet there are times when God's hands wound before they heal. Indeed, He must cripple our self-confidence before we truly become God-confident. He breaks and drains us of pride so that we, who were once full of self, might instead be filled with God.

The Lord called Moses to return to Egypt as His spokesman. In response Moses pleaded, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Ex. 4:10).

Never been eloquent? What about Egypt? "Moses the Eloquent" has become "Moses the Stammerer." The identity of a sophisticated leader, a prince who knew the highest tiers of Egyptian culture, no longer functions in Moses. God has so humbled His servant that he cannot even remember his days of powerful words and mighty deeds. Moses has only one memory of Egypt: failure.

For Moses, the very mention of the word Egypt floods his mind with weakness; Moses fears returning to the place of his humiliation, especially as a leader. Yet, God has not called him to be a leader, but a servant. And, to be a servant, one need not be eloquent, but obedient.

It Was God's Idea
Moses is sure his particular weakness, stammering, will disqualify him. How can a man who cannot speak clearly speak for God? Yet, not only is the Lord unhindered by human weakness, He asks, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (Ex. 4:11). Amazingly, the Lord not only accommodates Moses' condition, He takes credit for it!

It is a profound thought: God stripped Moses of his worldly place and training, burdened him with a heavy and slow tongue, and then commanded him to serve Him in this specific area of weakness: speaking!

The Lord could have instantly healed Moses! He could have given him oratorical skills greater than what he possessed in Egypt, but He did nothing to cure Moses. In fact, the slow speech is God's idea!

Perhaps we have spent too much time blaming the devil for certain limitations that actually have their origins in God. Yet, what truly matters with the Almighty is not the eloquence of our words, but His power to fulfill them. It's a fitting combination: stammering words backed up with immutable power. "I...will be with your mouth" (Ex. 4:12). This is the alliance that makes for victory.

Why is the Lord so attracted to the lowly? He knows the weaker His servant, the more genuinely he will praise God for the work He accomplishes.

So the Lord kept Moses weak, and He maintained His servant’s sense of dependancy throughout the wilderness sojourning. Forget Charlton Heston’s portrayal of Moses with perfect articulation, there is no record of God having healed Moses’ stammer. Standing before the regalia of Pharaoh's court, Moses spoke with the same stammering tongue that began to afflict him in his old age. Later, at the Red Sea, when the horses and chariots of Pharaoh's army cornered the fleeing Hebrews, Moses lifted his voice and, with struggling lips, proclaimed, "Sta-sta-stand st-still a-a-and see th-the s-s-salvation of the L-L-Lord!"

Who would not be tempted to plead, "Hurry Lord; heal his stutter!" Yet, the Red Sea parted. God was never troubled by His servant's flawed oratory skills.

This is the glory of the cross: self is crucified so that Christ may be revealed in power.

The fact is, the Lord deliberately seeks those who know their flaws. Paul testifies that "God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. . .the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God" (1 Cor. 1:27-29).

"That no man may boast before God." May the revelation of God liberate us from human vanity. The truth of God is this: Our weaknesses are an asset. God has chosen us, not because of our strength, but because we are weak. I am not talking about our sinfulness, but that our weaknesses and lack of pedigree do not disqualify us from being used by God.

I am not saying we shouldn’t seek God to heal our weaknesses, let us pray and believe Him! But let us also not excuse ourselves from God's calling because of our weakness. You see, before the Almighty, we each are nothing, and we can do nothing of lasting value apart from Him. It is in our lowliness that God's glory rises to its greatest heights.

Perhaps your last place of service to the Lord seemed to be a complete failure. Yet, it is possible that the Lord has simply been making you perfectly weak, that He might manifest Himself perfectly strong within you

Money and Ministry

Money and Ministry
by Asher Intrate

The relationship between money and ministry is very sensitive. Let's look at a few issues:

Lordship
We never do anything in the ministry for the sake of getting money. Yeshua said, "You cannot serve God and Mammon" – Matthew 6:24. Of course we need money for the work of the Lord, and God knows that. He will provide. We are never to worry (Matthew 6:25). Yet the motives we have for serving the Lord are not to make a profit.

Not Merchandising
Therefore we are not to treat the word of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit as a product to be marketed. It is not merchandise. "We are not like many who make commerce of the word of God" – II Corinthians 2:17. We are to be good stewards and act as responsible business professionals in the manner of our work, yet we are not to see the power of God as something to be sold. "Your money perish with you, for you thought to buy the gift of God with money" – Acts 8:20. The subtle ability to manipulate manifestations of God's grace as a trick to bring in donations is evil at its root (I Timothy 6:10).

Faith to Give
As we grow in faith, God teaches us to trust Him to be able to give more and more to help others. Yeshua purposely placed His disciples in a test. There were 5,000 men, in addition to women and children, in attendance. The people needed food. Yeshua said to His disciples, "You give them to eat" – Matthew 14:16. God demanded of them to change their identity from a taker to a giver, from being a needy person to being a supplier of needs. There is supernatural provision in faith.

Recently I felt God limiting my faith to be able to provide for the needs of our ministry. He wanted our staff and team members to grow in faith. After prayer, I told them, "Now you will begin to have faith to give and provide." This is part of discipleship. As we learn to give, God will provide. After the disciples fed the 5,000, Yeshua told them to gather all the crumbs. There were 12 baskets left over – enough for one basket to each disciple. God's economy is lavish in giving, yet frugal in expenses.

Paying Taxes
Paying taxes to the government is very costly and sometimes seems to be a waste of God's money. However, we are instructed to pay taxes as part of our faith in God (Romans 13:6). The tax services are not bothered by the fact that a person receives a lot of money. Quite the contrary – they just want their percentage of the income.

Yeshua instructed Peter to receive a supernatural supply of money to pay the religious tax on the Temple by taking money out of a fish's mouth (Matthew 17:27). He also instructed all the people to pay the secular tax to the government. "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's; and unto God what is God's" – Matthew 22:21. We have to distinguish between God and Caesar. Those who have money are not necessarily more spiritual. On the other hand, we can't over-spiritualize money. We have to pay bills; and we have to pay taxes. The rabbis have an expression, "Without bread (flour), there is no Torah; and without Torah, there is no bread" – Pirke Avot 3.

Keeping Records
There were moments in history of revival and abundance, where keeping records of every expense was not necessary (II Kings 22:7). However in our world today, there is much suspicion and much financial pressure. We have to be diligent in keeping records correctly. The process of keeping records is what demonstrates integrity. "That no one should blame us in these great donations, which are administered by us. We have determined to act with integrity, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" - II Corinthians 8:20-21. We purpose to show our morality, not just before God, but also toward men.

Don't Be Offended
One of the reasons that Judas betrayed Yeshua was that he saw Miriam of Bethany pour expensive perfume on Yeshua. He thought it was wasteful. He was offended (and was also stealing money himself). This offense triggered his betrayal (Matthew 26:14). Don't let yourself fall into the same trap.

Don't Compare
Comparing salaries and benefits can cause jealousy and anger. "Why does that person receive more than I do? I work harder than he does." Yeshua addressed this issue in the parable of the hired workers. Some worked longer hours. They expected more money. They were offended that they did not receive more. Yeshua answered, "Friend, I did not wrong you. Did you not agree to work for one denarius? Do I not have the right to do with my own money what I want? Are you envious because I am generous?" – Matthew 20:13, 15. The attitude that "I deserve this" is not appropriate when employed in service to the Lord. What we have is by His grace. One aspect of repentance is to be satisfied with one's earnings (Luke 3:14).

Wealth of the Nations
There are amazing promises of prosperity in the Bible. There are even prophecies that the "wealth of the nations" will come to us (Isaiah 60:5; 60:9; 60:11; 60:16; 61:6; Zechariah 14:14). Why would God want to bring us the wealth of the nations? It is not for us to live in luxury. The wealth of the nations will come to us in order to bring the gospel to the nations. Our motivation is not to GET the wealth of the nations, but to USE it. We desire not to take money from them but to give salvation to them. We need to enlarge our faith for giving, our faith for receiving, and our faith for the kingdom of God.

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