THE APOSTOLIC MANTLE

The purpose of the apostolic mantle is to turn the church back to God. It is the plight of the apostle to ordain faithful men and women who will contend for the faith by walking in the Spirit.

1 Chronicles 12:16-17, 21-22

16 And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.

17 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it…..

21 And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host.

22 For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God.

The principles in the text above exist today in the establishing of the ministry. The Lord will send to the apostle those who are to work the five-fold ministry or government of God in the church. It is the Lord who leads and guides men and women to their place of service in the Body. The apostle is given the gift to develop and train them for the work they are called to do.

Hebrews 13:17

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Though there have been many abuses to apostolic order, it is nevertheless the plan of God for the church. We cannot throw the baby out with the wash. God has purposed for the Body of Christ to be under the authority of the apostolic mantle. His mantle is the foundation for all the ministry gifts. It is imperative that those who join themselves to the apostolic mantle understand that the ministry is God’s influence in the earth. All who war against that influence will perish. I could say that it is better not to come under the mantle, if one is not willing to submit to its purpose and order; but in actuality apostolic order is not an option God gives the leaders in the Body.

DEALING WITH SPIRITUAL LACK IN LEADERS

Here is where the rubber meets the road. There are those whom the Lord has truly called to be pastors, teachers, prophets, etc. They have taken their post but after doing so, the position itself began to reveal negative spiritual traits. Yes, God will use your calling into ministry to reveal your spiritual lack for many have come to walking in the Spirit consistently after having taken up their posts. However, when a leader, especially a pastor is lacking in manifesting the attributes of the Spirit, the congregation will also lack an example of those attributes. I want to be very specific here, because the Lord has allowed many dispositions to surface within the personal ministry of those who are indeed called to serve. These examples are sited not as indictments against anyone, but surely as a learning tool for us all.

AUTHORITY WITHOUT LOVE

When leadership becomes a place of authority without the flow of love and compassion, evil contentions will rule the ministry, factions will be developed, spiritual growth halted and purpose lost. Some were very loyal, faithful workers of the vision before they were given a permanent post. The deception here is that initially before taking up the post of ministry, this disposition was a mere flaw in character that these individuals recognized about themselves and purposed to try and change it. They had no rebuttal to the confrontation of the apostle when this lack of love was addressed. But the reality is, they didn’t change it. Their character is still the same. They merely became more dutiful and dedicated to whatever tasks they were given to do in the ministry. This established a track record of faithfulness and loyalty to the vision. But God has spoken, “If there is any other mind, it shall be revealed.” We all know God is faithful to His own Word. When a leader covets authority, he or she will happily embrace the authoritative element of the gift , while ignoring the love and passion for people the gift was formed out of. When a leader covets authority, he will work diligently, sometimes under stressful situations, as long as his or her authority is intact. But what is the fruit of their labor? What is the result of long hours of preparations to preach or to enter into discipleship sessions?

The congregation is divided and clicks are firmly established. The leader subtly but publicly aligns himself/herself with the click that is mostly in submission to his or her authority, instead of standing in the righteousness of God that extends His love to all factions. Subtly: in that they will find some ministerial technicality that allows them to exclude or alienate those they see are not in submission. Public alliance: leaders who are obsessed with authority are very vindictive. They are careful to try and hide their agenda from those who are spiritual, but are obsessed with making sure their victim knows they are not welcome. When a leader refuses to stand in righteousness in such cases, it is because their heart is filled with animosity and bitterness for those who are considered defiant. They are no longer souls to whom God has sent to that leader to retrieve. They are the enemy. They must be neutralized and however possible, removed from any position of influence. When it is not possible to completely remove them, their input into any of the goings on of the ministry is abhorred and unappreciated; regardless of its validity or spiritual origin. These leaders are spiritually blinded by their obsession with authority. But this is nothing new to God. He has been addressing this issue for many years. He has pointed out their lack of love due to judgmentalism, unforgiveness and over-authoritativeness. They saw themselves, but nothing changed.

Therefore, the faithfulness of God proceeded to create circumstances that are designed to reveal all the secrets of the heart pertaining to God and His people. A church cannot grow under these circumstances. The church becomes nothing more than an arena for dog or cat fights. The people are discouraged and have no inclination to even attend. There is no unity and the simplest matters are so difficult to accomplish. Iniquities are strong in the leader and the people discern it. Thus the word the leader ministers has very little if any affect, seeing as how the people know the leader doesn’t really believe his or her own message. It is the responsibility of the apostle to address such spiritual postures.

One case in point: The Lord said one such leader was a stumbling block to the people and that actions must be taken in order to secure the ministry. Many had left the church and others were on the way out. Factions and clicks were re-established. There were guilty parties on all sides. But the leader is the one God expects to stand in His character if there is going to be a righteous resolution to the situation. I called the leader in and counseled on more than one occasion, especially addressing the issues and giving instructions as to how that leader should deal with situations that seem to be adverse. I also counseled regarding the leader’s personal negative character; warning them not to respond with carnality or emotionalism. Needless to say, the counsel was not followed. Therefore, the faithfulness of God to reveal this other mind was set in motion.

You must remember that it is people the Lord died for; all the people. Good or bad, He loves us all. Leaders too, must love the people of God, whether they are good or bad. The negative character of the saints is not a justification for our carnal responses. The Lord’s solution was to remove the immediate contradiction and opposition to His Word. However, He was not willing to destroy the potential for ministry the leader had. Therefore, He wanted the leader to minister in an area that would not allow him or her to suppress the anointing He had put in the lives of those the leader labeled as enemies. (Even if saints make themselves enemies of the gospel, we are charged with going to such a one in the spirit of meekness, in an effort to retrieve such a one). But when a leader is not willing to extend the loving hand of the ministry of reconciliation, they have moved past feeling and could not care less if those individuals end up in hell. The sad part about this too is that God has had the same hand extended to that leader when they made themselves an enemy of the gospel. Now God was asking them to do the same for others. The others just happened to be those who seemed to challenge the leader’s authority. The area the individual was to minister in, placed them in complete authority over that entity. This positioning would have allowed the leader to continue ministering, training and developing other ministers, separate and apart from the church. However, another was placed in authority over the church. I told the Lord, this person is not going to abide in your wisdom. When I deliver this counsel they will look upon me after the flesh and reject the wisdom of God. Eventually, it manifested that I was right. I was given notice of their departure. This was a divine set-up to reveal the true character of the leader.

See if you can find yourself in any of these hidden agendas.

1. I will serve on my terms.
2. I will serve as long as I am in control.
3. I will serve as long as I have to answer to no one other than the apostle.
4. I think more highly of myself than I ought.
5. I will suffer the people to remain divided and suspicious of one another as long as I am in authority.
6. I embrace the counsel of the sons of Satan and whispers of the daughters of darkness rather than the loving wisdom of God.
7. I will not forgive nor will I ever forget the deed of those who cross me.
8. I love myself more than God or His people.

The magnitude of one’s knowledge or past exploits does not make void the command to submit to the government of God. All the mighty men who came to David had done great and marvellous deeds. However, David warned that if their purpose in joining him was to divide or to aid his enemies, the Lord God Himself would deal with them. I thought in my heart, “I need to go and tell this person they have missed God. But as quickly as the thought came, the Lord spoke and said, “I already told them. They heard me, but they have chosen to ignore me. Hold your peace.”

Dear Sons of God, you are so valuable to the reformation. God has invested much in you. Don’t forfeit the sanctioning of God in your life and ministry. If you minister year after year the power of apostolic order, then allow it to govern your ministerial development. You will never lose trusting the method God has installed in the church. Don’t seek to find another route. You will fall into the snare of the enemy. You will not mock God. He will work against you and your latter end will be far worse than your former. Truth at times may be a painful thing, but it is no less the truth. Nevertheless, it is also a sufficient catalyst for change if it is embraced.