Three Waves
My meditations on the Book of Ephesians one afternoon were highlighted by some spiritual insights from the Lord as His Spirit began to speak to me from Chapter 4:11-16. The Spirit pointed out how this passage reveals three waves of restoration that the Spirit of God is commanding over His Church. As you review this scripture with us, we encourage you to prayerfully reflect on what we believe as a message from the Spirit .
First Wave (Restoration Of the Equipping Gift)
“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 the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness ….”
The first wave to come will carry the full restoration of His equipping gifts into the body of Christ. Since the 1950s, the restoration of the five-fold ministry has been significantly evident. One by one, the ministries comprising the five-fold are being re-established in the Body of Christ - from the progressive restoration of Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers, to that of Prophets and Apostles, which is taking place even now. This whole process is for one purpose - to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to bring them to unity of faith and to bring them to the maturity of the fullness of Christ. The body of Christ, it can thus be assumed, will never come to full maturity till the gifts of God that He intends for His Church are set at their rightful places and allowed to function in their rightful authority.
We must look forward to and pray for the establishment of this divine arrangement in the body of Christ or we will be deprived of the full blessings of God for as long as we are acting contrary to His prescription. However anointed and resourceful a spiritual leader may be, he alone cannot effectively function in all aspects of the five-fold gifting. If one person can do the job, God does not need to give five gifts but rather place all His anointing upon one person. Isn’t it more economical and wouldn’t it create less strife? There is absolutely no place for independent discharge of all the five offices by any one person. Mutual dependence within the fellowship in the Body is how the five-fold ministry will be established and exercised. No one could then be able to boast of individual merits, and none may ever lay claim to the pride and glory due solely to God. In His infinite wisdom, God has designed a way for us to arrive at spiritual maturity and strength through humility, love and submission towards one another (Eph.5:21).
Presently, we have churches that are being run and led by a main person who, being chief in command, ends up also as the doer in most of the ministry required by the congregation. This means that this person alone tries to cover all aspects of the fivefold ministry. Most of us would agree that such arrangement is not ideal and will not accomplish the same results as when we have the right persons called to the fivefold do the work they are individually equipped. Sometimes, we may have the occasional visit by a member of the fivefold ministry to bring more anointing into our weekly worship services; but even then, it is not giving the fivefold ministers a chance to do what they are primarily called to. The fivefold ministers must equip the saints with whatever is necessary for them to administer the gifts and blessings of God to the rest of the people. However, in an occasional visit, there is hardly any chance for that minister to do any form of equipping. He could at most bless the congregation with his gifting and anointing, but to impart and develop that anointing in any one of them would hardly be possible at all given that short period of time. So instead of equipping the Body to work, the ministers end up discharging frontline ministry work themselves.
The primary calling of an evangelist, however, is not just to evangelise but to impart a love for the lost; the main function of a prophet is not just hearing God but also to instruct all believers in knowing the Lord’s voice and prophecy; and the primary task of a teacher is not just to communicate knowledge but to impart a diligent love for the truth and bestow the spiritual instruments needed for all believers to be able to search out the truths of God’s Word. Moreover, the principal work of a pastor is not just to lead people but also to equip all believers to be able to help one another. We must understand that the ultimate call of the fivefold ministry is not found in performing outstanding ministry to the Body, but in instructing on the functions of each ministry within the fivefold and imparting the anointing to the rest of the Body. In this manner, all believers may come to taste the goodness of God’s power working in them to the fulfilment of His glory on earth. Spiritual fruits will only remain if others besides presently recognised fivefold ministers fulfil their potential and destiny. Not until the fivefold exercise their authority in right command, the Body continues to miss the full riches we can have in Christ.
God-loving believers today are still being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. This being so, many Christians hardly find the opportunity to deepen their roots and mature in their calling, and indeed, not many come near to the fulfilment of their calling. Constantly having their focus shifted from one mandate to another, they can barely get the chance to discover the place where God has willed them to be and develop their talent and anointing. This will continue to happen until the equipping gifts are given their rightful influence and contribution. To the degree that the equipping gifts work in unity is to the degree we will possess God’s counsel. No one person will have the full counsel of God, “for we know in part” (1Cor.13:9)and “even the wisest man who says he knows everything doesn’t”(Eccl.8:16). Unity is not an ideal but a necessity for perfection. This explains why, during His last moments with His disciples, the Lord prayed that they would be “perfected in unity” (Jn.17:23). Each equipping gift can only reach its fullest potential within the body when it is properly functioning in relation to the other equipping gifts. If we want to receive the full blessing of God in this first wave, we ought to pray for the unity of the equipping gifts, in order that satan will not dilute their potential by his scheme of insecurity, selfishness, pride, etc. Let us also embrace fully the anointing and teaching of these equipping gifts that God has given to us so that we can grow in proper order. Just as a deficiency in certain mineral or nutrient in our body system will have a negative impact on our physical health, so the lack of sufficiency of the full counsel of God in our church family will adversely affect our spiritual life and growth.
Second Wave (Maturing Of the Saints To Christlikeness )
“till we come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him….”
Once we had a vision of a great shaft of waters flowing steadily down from an open heaven to where a church stood. In that shaft of waters, the word “Christlikeness” was illuminated. The water is the stream of revival that was to come and mature the Church into the perfect stature and the fullness of Christ through the restoration of divine love. In God’s divine timetable, we are now in the interim between the first and second wave. To move into the sweep of the second wave, a signal response to the first wave must precede, since the three waves of God’s Spirit build one upon another.
So, we need to know what that central message of this second wave is: Christlikeness. What is Christlikeness? It is the state of being like Christ - the representation of God - who is love. So being Christ-like is to be a carrier of God’s divine love: “To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). Christ is indeed the “fullness of God”; and to be like Christ is to be filled with Christ-that is, filled with the fullness of God. The way to this, Eph. 3:19 exhorts us, is to know divine love - God’s kind of love.
As we yield ourselves to allow God’s love to be manifested through us, the love that flows in us will first heal, anoint and sanctify us to become the acceptable vessels to do the work of God, before it reaches out to touch the people around us. If God does not fill our heart first, we will not succeed, no matter how hard we try. One of the major emphases of this wave is understanding how the conscious development of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives will be instrumental to the increase of the inward anointing in us. The time has come when the gifts of the Spirit will manifest themselves in a more excellent way - through love: “earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way” (1 Cor.12:31) and “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts” (1 Cor. 14:1)
The sequence for the unveiling of the Spirit’s gifts is as we have just read. Espouse love first, and the gifts will flow from us. It cannot be reversed. Gifts without love shine but stink in character. Many anointed man can have character flaw. They are only respected for their public ministry but never respected in the private life, especially those who knows them in close distance. Only if we seek to be perfected to walk in the love of God, will our character flaw slowly diminish. If we reside in the love of God and the love of God resides in us, we have the right influence in us to draw on the anointing of God and through that bring healing to the nations. This way, the fruit of our ministry will always bring a three-fold benefit: glorifying God, blessing people, and refining us. Those whose motivation is not founded on the love of God will have labour that produces fruits that feed personal ambition. The ministry will soon become not so much feeding the sheep because of love but feeding the sheep so as to increase one’s worth as a shepherd. As you can probably tell, such impure motives would hinder the move of God and render a person an enemy of the cross instead of the instrument of His sovereign will (Phil.3:18).
As a result of selfish motivation and the absence of love, many servants either do not have or they lose the joy of Christian fellowship. Where there is no true love there is no presence of God, for God is love. They drag themselves to Church instead of anticipating the communal fellowship and worship with gladness, as did King David, when he was asked to go into the house of the Lord (Ps.122:1). No Christian, of course, is perfect. Every one of us, we all would admit, is still working out our perfection in the fear of the Lord. It is therefore hardly surprising that even the godliest person in our midst should sometimes fall from glory. Inasmuch as we have suffered harm as a result of failure, there could also be others who are trying to recover from the hurts they have suffered from us. Whatever the feeling of loss or injury, it is important always to try and see things from God’s perspective and look at the people around us through the screen of Christ’s love, so that we might contribute to the refining of the Church. While we do not have to love the condition of our church, we must however love our church. Criticism will not move an offender to repentance but the urgings of true love will. Love has the power to melt even the hardest heart and wash away the harshest hurt, for “love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8). Let’s excel in love by loving, and helping those who have even offended us. Love is the willingness to suffer inside so that others can grow; it gives birth to understanding. Choosing to love is exercising emotional diligence.
Pursuing love in this way puts us on the path of finding our image in Christ. The real test comes when we find ourselves with people who are difficult for anyone to love and who may not readily love us. However, it is through our involvement with these people that we are reminded of the urgent need to grow so that the Church could reach perfection sooner. Drawing a connection here to our earlier discussion of the fivefold ministry, one of the reasons these equipping gifts are not functioning the way they should is our failure to overcome our prejudices and biases. The tendency to judge others negatively through our own gifting and the inclination to emphasize the importance of our ministry over another’s is not uncommon. Sometimes people feel threatened and uncomfortable with the way others are moving with God - the more unconventional the style, the stronger the feeling of unease. But we should avoid allowing these feelings to stop us in appreciating the anointing in other people’s lives. Not being unfamiliar with how the Lord is using our neighbour should not distract us from receiving that person’s ministry so long as it is not biblically unsound. Be careful not to confuse fear and personal insecurity with discernment. Take time to examine our thoughts and motives before making judgments about a particular person or situation. Do not misunderstand even when you do not understand.
“Speaking the truth in love” is one of the primary ways that we grow in Christlikeness. Very often, people are quick to point out the truth, but this is done not in a spirit of love but in a spirit of self-righteousness, seeking to exalt our walk with the Lord rather than help to heal and restore. We judge religiously and mercilessly by employing scriptural principles and examples, neglecting to seek God’s mind in the matter, and speaking as He would approve. But doctrine and revelation are not above the law of love, for they are after all established by God, who is love. God is love - and if we are going to be like Him we must do all that we do in love. Paul wrote in 2 Cor.5:14 “For the love of Christ constrains us.” How much more pleasant a place for everyone if the Church was filled with Christians controlled by the love of Christ in all that we do or say. This should be our ultimate goal. Otherwise, we will keep the reputation of hypocrites that the world put on us. Find the way of love in every conflict and walk in that way. Test your words and actions with the sacrificial attitudes of love. Love will always give unselfishly for the good of the receiver, even at our own account.
Generally, people who hurt others are usually people who have been hurt by others before. People’s experiences - good or bad - have a strong bearing on their behaviour. That is why in general people who are treated well most of the time are more kindly towards others than those who have been more often than not subjected to bad treatment by those around them. Thus, it is very important for people to be healed of their past wounds so that bad memories are erased and they are set free emotionally to walk and grow in love within their circle of fellowship. Bitterness and unforgiveness hurt no other quite as badly as they do the bearer of them. We wound ourselves emotionally and spiritually when we harbour bitterness and unforgiveness. The wounds are like deep lesions inflicted on our emotions: not only do they deteriorate into deeper wounds, but they also spread and affect other aspects of our lives as well.
The Spirit of the Lord once showed me two pictures on walking in love. In the first, there was a plant, which I would call “bitterness,” sprouting out from a heart. An axe called “love” was then laid to the root of the plant and the plant was subdued. That moment, it became plain to me that the surest and perhaps the quickest way to counter bitterness is to apply the antidote of love. And this has to be done as soon as the first shoot of bitterness appears, for the moment bitterness is sown, the roots steadily deepen and soon they bring forth the fruits of anger, selfishness, self-pity, rejection, unforgiveness, etc. These fruits are like poisons that have the potency to destroy both our lives and the lives of those whom we come into contact with. Satan walked in bitterness after his fall and that became one of his strongest influences over us. The defender who wielded the axe was the Lord Jesus, who countered the enemy with Love and Forgiveness. Through the demonstration of love, Christ rose above the wiles of the wicked one and resurrected with the power of love in His wings. So, following Christ’s example of using love and forgiveness, we can, if we want, overcome the world of wickedness and enjoy the resurrected power of peace and joy while on this earth. This involves a death to self - be it self-interests, self-desires or self-benefits. To die to self puts us in the place where we sincerely and eagerly desire for Christlikeness to be perfected in us, which is also God’s ultimate predestination for every one of us (Rom.8:29). It becomes the indefeasible power to overcome evil and to transform a person into the image of Christ. So let us be quick to lay the “axe” of love to the root of bitterness so that it will not be given any foothold in our hearts
The second vision was a heart fully coated with the “oil” of Love. The oil continuously oozed out from the heart, keeping the entire heart lubricated always with Love, and rendering it smooth and slippery. Several ugly and awful creatures were clawing away at the heart, trying to stay on it. However, the oil on the heart made it so slippery there was just no way anything could successfully stick itself onto it. As you would have guessed, those ugly creatures are of course evil spirits of all sorts trying to gain a foothold in our lives by catching on to something in our heart. But a heart greased with the oils of love will not succumb under such attacks. Just as Christ overcame all things with His love, so love remains the triumphant weapon over every snare of the evil one.
In this second wave, the Lord is allowing his saints to undergo many tests and trials so as to develop the love of God in their lives, for a man’s value is derived from his reaction or response towards trials and testing. The Spirit is also pouring out greater revelations of God’s love for His Children. The degree to which we can comprehend and appropriate God’s immense love into our lives and learn to rest in God’s unconditional love is the degree we can dispense His love to others. Come before God daily and ask that by His spirit of wisdom and understanding and His Word we will grow and increase in the knowledge of His love so that He can “always lead us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Cor.2:14).
Third Wave ( The Saints’ Movement)
“… from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
The Body of Christ can properly function and be strong only when “every part does its share,” when every bone and joint is in place. A joint is not a specific part but is the spot where two parts meet and are connected. However, no joint can be properly formed if the right body parts are not in place. For instance, it is wrong and quite impossible to form a joint out of the arm and the knee. Likewise, it is important for people to know which part they are called to in the Body of Christ, for if that remains uncertain it is very difficult for effective joints to be formed in the Body. In so far as a physical body cannot stand upright and properly without a solid skeletal structure complete with joints and all, so the Body of Christ will not be fully established until the Members are properly joined to one another and the Body becomes well-supported. The equipping gifts have a big role to play here. By identifying God’s purposes in the lives of the people and then equipping them with the anointing and power, they help people find their proper places in the Body. Once they are in their right places, God’s people can start to do the work of the Lord and help to support and build up the Body.
In this next wave, there will come a widespread and thorough awakening to this urgency of proper inter-connectivity of believers within the Body of Christ. The next generation of servants who have the love of God wrought in their hearts will give their all to equip and prosper the saints. We will not see healing and miracles happening just in Church service or conferences. The power of God witnessed through this “saints’ movement” will sweep every corner of the earth.
May those who believe what we have just shared join faith with us in praying for the full restoration of these three waves of God, that we may see the whole earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habbakuk 2:14), and that we may all “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col.4:12).
My meditations on the Book of Ephesians one afternoon were highlighted by some spiritual insights from the Lord as His Spirit began to speak to me from Chapter 4:11-16. The Spirit pointed out how this passage reveals three waves of restoration that the Spirit of God is commanding over His Church. As you review this scripture with us, we encourage you to prayerfully reflect on what we believe as a message from the Spirit .
First Wave (Restoration Of the Equipping Gift)
“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 the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness ….”
The first wave to come will carry the full restoration of His equipping gifts into the body of Christ. Since the 1950s, the restoration of the five-fold ministry has been significantly evident. One by one, the ministries comprising the five-fold are being re-established in the Body of Christ - from the progressive restoration of Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers, to that of Prophets and Apostles, which is taking place even now. This whole process is for one purpose - to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to bring them to unity of faith and to bring them to the maturity of the fullness of Christ. The body of Christ, it can thus be assumed, will never come to full maturity till the gifts of God that He intends for His Church are set at their rightful places and allowed to function in their rightful authority.
We must look forward to and pray for the establishment of this divine arrangement in the body of Christ or we will be deprived of the full blessings of God for as long as we are acting contrary to His prescription. However anointed and resourceful a spiritual leader may be, he alone cannot effectively function in all aspects of the five-fold gifting. If one person can do the job, God does not need to give five gifts but rather place all His anointing upon one person. Isn’t it more economical and wouldn’t it create less strife? There is absolutely no place for independent discharge of all the five offices by any one person. Mutual dependence within the fellowship in the Body is how the five-fold ministry will be established and exercised. No one could then be able to boast of individual merits, and none may ever lay claim to the pride and glory due solely to God. In His infinite wisdom, God has designed a way for us to arrive at spiritual maturity and strength through humility, love and submission towards one another (Eph.5:21).
Presently, we have churches that are being run and led by a main person who, being chief in command, ends up also as the doer in most of the ministry required by the congregation. This means that this person alone tries to cover all aspects of the fivefold ministry. Most of us would agree that such arrangement is not ideal and will not accomplish the same results as when we have the right persons called to the fivefold do the work they are individually equipped. Sometimes, we may have the occasional visit by a member of the fivefold ministry to bring more anointing into our weekly worship services; but even then, it is not giving the fivefold ministers a chance to do what they are primarily called to. The fivefold ministers must equip the saints with whatever is necessary for them to administer the gifts and blessings of God to the rest of the people. However, in an occasional visit, there is hardly any chance for that minister to do any form of equipping. He could at most bless the congregation with his gifting and anointing, but to impart and develop that anointing in any one of them would hardly be possible at all given that short period of time. So instead of equipping the Body to work, the ministers end up discharging frontline ministry work themselves.
The primary calling of an evangelist, however, is not just to evangelise but to impart a love for the lost; the main function of a prophet is not just hearing God but also to instruct all believers in knowing the Lord’s voice and prophecy; and the primary task of a teacher is not just to communicate knowledge but to impart a diligent love for the truth and bestow the spiritual instruments needed for all believers to be able to search out the truths of God’s Word. Moreover, the principal work of a pastor is not just to lead people but also to equip all believers to be able to help one another. We must understand that the ultimate call of the fivefold ministry is not found in performing outstanding ministry to the Body, but in instructing on the functions of each ministry within the fivefold and imparting the anointing to the rest of the Body. In this manner, all believers may come to taste the goodness of God’s power working in them to the fulfilment of His glory on earth. Spiritual fruits will only remain if others besides presently recognised fivefold ministers fulfil their potential and destiny. Not until the fivefold exercise their authority in right command, the Body continues to miss the full riches we can have in Christ.
God-loving believers today are still being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. This being so, many Christians hardly find the opportunity to deepen their roots and mature in their calling, and indeed, not many come near to the fulfilment of their calling. Constantly having their focus shifted from one mandate to another, they can barely get the chance to discover the place where God has willed them to be and develop their talent and anointing. This will continue to happen until the equipping gifts are given their rightful influence and contribution. To the degree that the equipping gifts work in unity is to the degree we will possess God’s counsel. No one person will have the full counsel of God, “for we know in part” (1Cor.13:9)and “even the wisest man who says he knows everything doesn’t”(Eccl.8:16). Unity is not an ideal but a necessity for perfection. This explains why, during His last moments with His disciples, the Lord prayed that they would be “perfected in unity” (Jn.17:23). Each equipping gift can only reach its fullest potential within the body when it is properly functioning in relation to the other equipping gifts. If we want to receive the full blessing of God in this first wave, we ought to pray for the unity of the equipping gifts, in order that satan will not dilute their potential by his scheme of insecurity, selfishness, pride, etc. Let us also embrace fully the anointing and teaching of these equipping gifts that God has given to us so that we can grow in proper order. Just as a deficiency in certain mineral or nutrient in our body system will have a negative impact on our physical health, so the lack of sufficiency of the full counsel of God in our church family will adversely affect our spiritual life and growth.
Second Wave (Maturing Of the Saints To Christlikeness )
“till we come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him….”
Once we had a vision of a great shaft of waters flowing steadily down from an open heaven to where a church stood. In that shaft of waters, the word “Christlikeness” was illuminated. The water is the stream of revival that was to come and mature the Church into the perfect stature and the fullness of Christ through the restoration of divine love. In God’s divine timetable, we are now in the interim between the first and second wave. To move into the sweep of the second wave, a signal response to the first wave must precede, since the three waves of God’s Spirit build one upon another.
So, we need to know what that central message of this second wave is: Christlikeness. What is Christlikeness? It is the state of being like Christ - the representation of God - who is love. So being Christ-like is to be a carrier of God’s divine love: “To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). Christ is indeed the “fullness of God”; and to be like Christ is to be filled with Christ-that is, filled with the fullness of God. The way to this, Eph. 3:19 exhorts us, is to know divine love - God’s kind of love.
As we yield ourselves to allow God’s love to be manifested through us, the love that flows in us will first heal, anoint and sanctify us to become the acceptable vessels to do the work of God, before it reaches out to touch the people around us. If God does not fill our heart first, we will not succeed, no matter how hard we try. One of the major emphases of this wave is understanding how the conscious development of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives will be instrumental to the increase of the inward anointing in us. The time has come when the gifts of the Spirit will manifest themselves in a more excellent way - through love: “earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way” (1 Cor.12:31) and “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts” (1 Cor. 14:1)
The sequence for the unveiling of the Spirit’s gifts is as we have just read. Espouse love first, and the gifts will flow from us. It cannot be reversed. Gifts without love shine but stink in character. Many anointed man can have character flaw. They are only respected for their public ministry but never respected in the private life, especially those who knows them in close distance. Only if we seek to be perfected to walk in the love of God, will our character flaw slowly diminish. If we reside in the love of God and the love of God resides in us, we have the right influence in us to draw on the anointing of God and through that bring healing to the nations. This way, the fruit of our ministry will always bring a three-fold benefit: glorifying God, blessing people, and refining us. Those whose motivation is not founded on the love of God will have labour that produces fruits that feed personal ambition. The ministry will soon become not so much feeding the sheep because of love but feeding the sheep so as to increase one’s worth as a shepherd. As you can probably tell, such impure motives would hinder the move of God and render a person an enemy of the cross instead of the instrument of His sovereign will (Phil.3:18).
As a result of selfish motivation and the absence of love, many servants either do not have or they lose the joy of Christian fellowship. Where there is no true love there is no presence of God, for God is love. They drag themselves to Church instead of anticipating the communal fellowship and worship with gladness, as did King David, when he was asked to go into the house of the Lord (Ps.122:1). No Christian, of course, is perfect. Every one of us, we all would admit, is still working out our perfection in the fear of the Lord. It is therefore hardly surprising that even the godliest person in our midst should sometimes fall from glory. Inasmuch as we have suffered harm as a result of failure, there could also be others who are trying to recover from the hurts they have suffered from us. Whatever the feeling of loss or injury, it is important always to try and see things from God’s perspective and look at the people around us through the screen of Christ’s love, so that we might contribute to the refining of the Church. While we do not have to love the condition of our church, we must however love our church. Criticism will not move an offender to repentance but the urgings of true love will. Love has the power to melt even the hardest heart and wash away the harshest hurt, for “love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8). Let’s excel in love by loving, and helping those who have even offended us. Love is the willingness to suffer inside so that others can grow; it gives birth to understanding. Choosing to love is exercising emotional diligence.
Pursuing love in this way puts us on the path of finding our image in Christ. The real test comes when we find ourselves with people who are difficult for anyone to love and who may not readily love us. However, it is through our involvement with these people that we are reminded of the urgent need to grow so that the Church could reach perfection sooner. Drawing a connection here to our earlier discussion of the fivefold ministry, one of the reasons these equipping gifts are not functioning the way they should is our failure to overcome our prejudices and biases. The tendency to judge others negatively through our own gifting and the inclination to emphasize the importance of our ministry over another’s is not uncommon. Sometimes people feel threatened and uncomfortable with the way others are moving with God - the more unconventional the style, the stronger the feeling of unease. But we should avoid allowing these feelings to stop us in appreciating the anointing in other people’s lives. Not being unfamiliar with how the Lord is using our neighbour should not distract us from receiving that person’s ministry so long as it is not biblically unsound. Be careful not to confuse fear and personal insecurity with discernment. Take time to examine our thoughts and motives before making judgments about a particular person or situation. Do not misunderstand even when you do not understand.
“Speaking the truth in love” is one of the primary ways that we grow in Christlikeness. Very often, people are quick to point out the truth, but this is done not in a spirit of love but in a spirit of self-righteousness, seeking to exalt our walk with the Lord rather than help to heal and restore. We judge religiously and mercilessly by employing scriptural principles and examples, neglecting to seek God’s mind in the matter, and speaking as He would approve. But doctrine and revelation are not above the law of love, for they are after all established by God, who is love. God is love - and if we are going to be like Him we must do all that we do in love. Paul wrote in 2 Cor.5:14 “For the love of Christ constrains us.” How much more pleasant a place for everyone if the Church was filled with Christians controlled by the love of Christ in all that we do or say. This should be our ultimate goal. Otherwise, we will keep the reputation of hypocrites that the world put on us. Find the way of love in every conflict and walk in that way. Test your words and actions with the sacrificial attitudes of love. Love will always give unselfishly for the good of the receiver, even at our own account.
Generally, people who hurt others are usually people who have been hurt by others before. People’s experiences - good or bad - have a strong bearing on their behaviour. That is why in general people who are treated well most of the time are more kindly towards others than those who have been more often than not subjected to bad treatment by those around them. Thus, it is very important for people to be healed of their past wounds so that bad memories are erased and they are set free emotionally to walk and grow in love within their circle of fellowship. Bitterness and unforgiveness hurt no other quite as badly as they do the bearer of them. We wound ourselves emotionally and spiritually when we harbour bitterness and unforgiveness. The wounds are like deep lesions inflicted on our emotions: not only do they deteriorate into deeper wounds, but they also spread and affect other aspects of our lives as well.
The Spirit of the Lord once showed me two pictures on walking in love. In the first, there was a plant, which I would call “bitterness,” sprouting out from a heart. An axe called “love” was then laid to the root of the plant and the plant was subdued. That moment, it became plain to me that the surest and perhaps the quickest way to counter bitterness is to apply the antidote of love. And this has to be done as soon as the first shoot of bitterness appears, for the moment bitterness is sown, the roots steadily deepen and soon they bring forth the fruits of anger, selfishness, self-pity, rejection, unforgiveness, etc. These fruits are like poisons that have the potency to destroy both our lives and the lives of those whom we come into contact with. Satan walked in bitterness after his fall and that became one of his strongest influences over us. The defender who wielded the axe was the Lord Jesus, who countered the enemy with Love and Forgiveness. Through the demonstration of love, Christ rose above the wiles of the wicked one and resurrected with the power of love in His wings. So, following Christ’s example of using love and forgiveness, we can, if we want, overcome the world of wickedness and enjoy the resurrected power of peace and joy while on this earth. This involves a death to self - be it self-interests, self-desires or self-benefits. To die to self puts us in the place where we sincerely and eagerly desire for Christlikeness to be perfected in us, which is also God’s ultimate predestination for every one of us (Rom.8:29). It becomes the indefeasible power to overcome evil and to transform a person into the image of Christ. So let us be quick to lay the “axe” of love to the root of bitterness so that it will not be given any foothold in our hearts
The second vision was a heart fully coated with the “oil” of Love. The oil continuously oozed out from the heart, keeping the entire heart lubricated always with Love, and rendering it smooth and slippery. Several ugly and awful creatures were clawing away at the heart, trying to stay on it. However, the oil on the heart made it so slippery there was just no way anything could successfully stick itself onto it. As you would have guessed, those ugly creatures are of course evil spirits of all sorts trying to gain a foothold in our lives by catching on to something in our heart. But a heart greased with the oils of love will not succumb under such attacks. Just as Christ overcame all things with His love, so love remains the triumphant weapon over every snare of the evil one.
In this second wave, the Lord is allowing his saints to undergo many tests and trials so as to develop the love of God in their lives, for a man’s value is derived from his reaction or response towards trials and testing. The Spirit is also pouring out greater revelations of God’s love for His Children. The degree to which we can comprehend and appropriate God’s immense love into our lives and learn to rest in God’s unconditional love is the degree we can dispense His love to others. Come before God daily and ask that by His spirit of wisdom and understanding and His Word we will grow and increase in the knowledge of His love so that He can “always lead us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Cor.2:14).
Third Wave ( The Saints’ Movement)
“… from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
The Body of Christ can properly function and be strong only when “every part does its share,” when every bone and joint is in place. A joint is not a specific part but is the spot where two parts meet and are connected. However, no joint can be properly formed if the right body parts are not in place. For instance, it is wrong and quite impossible to form a joint out of the arm and the knee. Likewise, it is important for people to know which part they are called to in the Body of Christ, for if that remains uncertain it is very difficult for effective joints to be formed in the Body. In so far as a physical body cannot stand upright and properly without a solid skeletal structure complete with joints and all, so the Body of Christ will not be fully established until the Members are properly joined to one another and the Body becomes well-supported. The equipping gifts have a big role to play here. By identifying God’s purposes in the lives of the people and then equipping them with the anointing and power, they help people find their proper places in the Body. Once they are in their right places, God’s people can start to do the work of the Lord and help to support and build up the Body.
In this next wave, there will come a widespread and thorough awakening to this urgency of proper inter-connectivity of believers within the Body of Christ. The next generation of servants who have the love of God wrought in their hearts will give their all to equip and prosper the saints. We will not see healing and miracles happening just in Church service or conferences. The power of God witnessed through this “saints’ movement” will sweep every corner of the earth.
May those who believe what we have just shared join faith with us in praying for the full restoration of these three waves of God, that we may see the whole earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habbakuk 2:14), and that we may all “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col.4:12).
