Apostles Abolish Disorder
The image of a camel can be used to represent an Apostle because just as a camel can eat cactus “like it is nothing” so an Apostle can eat disorder for lunch!
Above is a video link of a camel eating a cactus (left-clicking on the image above will open the video link). The camel has special bones in his mouth that allows him to chew and swallow cactus (and cactus needles) without problem. The camel is adapted to eat such rough forage with a mouth and throat and digestive system that are immune to any harmful effects of prickly cactus!
This is an illustration of the expression, “He can eat that for lunch!” meaning that a creature is specifically designed and made for devouring things that others cannot chew. A camel can eat cactus as if it was “candy” and cactus needles have no harmful effect for him whatsoever!
Apostles Created to Eat “Disorder” for Lunch!
A camel can be used to serve as a spiritual illustration of an Apostle because the Apostle was created to define, expose, and destroy disorder in the lives of believers both individually and corporately (as members of a congregation). In this sense it could be said that the Apostle “eats-disorder-for-lunch” because he was specifically made by God for this very purpose! This means he is created to devour disorder just as naturally and easily as a camel can devour cactus (needles and all)!
See the link “Fivefold Ministry Gifts” for more details.
The ministry of an Apostle can also be compared to the discipline of a father for his son so that the son will turn out to be a responsible adult instead of being a woman-raised sissy that is useless to all society!
See the link “Apostle Poem” for more details.
Anger of an Apostle
Those men who were born with a gift of Apostle will find that they will often display “anger” toward all disorder. This type of anger is from God but at the same time Apostles also have to distinguish natural human anger (derived from the sin nature) from the anger of God that is not derived from human sources.
Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
Psalm 4:4 (NIV)
4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah
The two scriptures above can readily be applied to the Fivefold Ministry Gifts of Apostle and Prophet who often experience the righteous anger of God. This type of anger is not derived from any human source but comes directly from God and is imparted to the Apostles and Prophets by the Holy Spirit.
The righteous anger from God comes upon Apostles and Prophets who are provoked against all disorder and sin. They may not even know why they are angry because it is not related to anything in the natural realm but that which has provoked them is an anger that comes from God.
Righteous Anger of God
My own experience with “righteous-anger” occurred when I was traveling as a missionary in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. I was waiting at a bus stop with my interpreter and he happened to strike up a conversation with someone who was from a nearby bible college. They heard I was a missionary so they invited me to come and speak to their student body. I frequently teach in many different places in churches and schools and colleges and just about anywhere the door opens for me to minister but this occasion was much different. As I was following my interpreter and our host onto the bible school campus, suddenly an unexplained “rage” came upon me! This anger was not derived from any natural sources because no one had said anything to me that could have provoked me and we did not see anyone other than our host as we arrived on the campus of this bible college.
The student body was gathered in the auditorium and as I approached the pulpit to address the students then this rage, I was feeling on the inside exploded like a volcano! I flew into a rage and cussed them all out for probably about ten minutes! The experience was such that my natural mind had nothing to do with it but the message came directly from my spirit within and came right out of my mouth! From the windows of my eyes, I was watching the shocked expressions of the students whose eyes were big as saucers and whose mouths were wide open in utter shock! But I had no idea what I was saying to them because it bypassed my mind completely! After I had delivered this apostolic message then I just stopped as abruptly as I had started. The students were visibly shaken and got out of their seats trembling and filed out in silence with their heads down having an attitude of a whipped dog with his tail between his legs! In fact, I would not have known what I said at all except that one of the students came up to me later and told me that everything I had said was exactly right on! She explained that the upperclassmen were abusing the new students in arrogant manner. It seemed that the gist of my message was giving this student body a rebuke of their lives for this arrogant behavior! It was the anger and rage of God that caused me to behave like a roaring lion before them!
This was the first time I had experienced the holy anger of God toward disorder in this manner! It was as if God was speaking directly through me and I had nothing to do with it whatsoever! I knew beyond a doubt that this anger was from God because this type of anger did not come from any human source and there was absolutely no reason naturally that I would be mad at these people whom I have never met before!
This is an example of the anger of God and this has direct application to the scripture that says be angry and sin not.
Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
Psalm 4:4 (NIV)
4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah
These scriptures are probably one of the most misunderstood scriptures in the entire bible and I have heard a vast array of interpretations of what people suppose these might mean or how they could be applied. However, there are some scriptures that have direct application to the Fivefold Ministry and I believe these scriptures above are of this type of category.
The NIV translation says “In your anger do not sin!” Yet at the same time human anger is a sin and is in fact derived from the human sin nature.
Human Anger is a Sin
Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The scriptures above speak of the acts of the sinful nature within humans and one of these sinful acts is that of “fits of rage” which speaks of natural human anger. Apostle Paul warned believers that those who yield to their sin nature and do these things listed here will not inherit the kingdom of God. So, one of the things that will ban people from heaven is “fits of rage” or natural human anger.
Two Types of Anger
It should be noted therefore that there exists two-types of anger. There is the holy anger of God against disorder and sin (which is commonly expressed by both Apostles and Prophets) and there is the natural human anger provoked by the thoughts of the human mind. One type of anger is not a sin and the other type of anger is a sin and can result in banning angry people from entering the kingdom of God!
Be Angry but Do Not Sin
Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
Psalm 4:4 (NIV)
4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah
It seems paradoxical that the scriptures speak of being angry but not sinning when in fact anger is a sin in the sight of God. This however can be clarified when it is applied to both Apostles and Prophets of the Fivefold Ministry. Apostles are created to expose and define and rebuke disorder and Prophets are created to expose and define and rebuke sin. Both Apostles and Prophets frequently experience divine anger with the Apostles experiencing divine anger toward disorder and the Prophets experiencing divine anger toward sin.
Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
In your anger do not sin can be applied to both Apostles and Prophets because it is not a sin to be angry when that anger comes from God against disorder and sin. It is part of the fruit and ministry of both Apostles and Prophets to get angry at disorder and sin. It is an anger that comes from God and is not derived from human sources.
But at the same time Apostles and Prophets are also just humans and they can harbor human anger within them and they can even mix the holy anger of God together with their own natural human anger. Apostles and Prophets who are not yet mature spiritually will often mix the two together but one type of anger is from God and one type of anger is derived from the sin nature. One type of anger is not a sin but the other type of anger is a sin.
James 3:11 (NIV)
11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
It is obvious that both fresh water and salt water cannot flow out of the same spring but yet this event occurs with both Apostles and Prophets who are not yet fully mature and have not learned to distinguish the holy anger of God from the natural human anger derived from their sin nature. Mixing the two together can cause confusion because the audience will not know if the words are coming from God or from the human side of the Apostle or Prophet. It is for this reason that those in the Fivefold Ministry have to be given time to mature and develop before they are released into the ministry.
The act of ordination is an act of endorsing a man before the congregation to testify publicly that this man has both the born gift of a Fivefold minister and also possesses the spiritual maturity to operate his gift. It takes a Fivefold Minister to recognize another Fivefold minister so predominately those who ordain others are those who are Apostles or Prophets themselves who operate in the Revelation Gift of Discerning of spirits. The gift of Discerning of spirits also works to identify those who are born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift.
See the link “Spiritual Gifts” for more details.
A Better Translation
Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
This scripture above could be better translated as:
Ephesians 4:26 (7KB)
26 Learn to distinguish holy anger from natural human anger. Do not let the sun go down while you are angry with natural human anger (which is a sin). Make restitution the same day and so close the door to the devil by repenting of this sin of yielding to natural human anger.
27 and do not give the devil a foothold of opportunity.
The 7KB translation above shows that there are two types of anger and these should be distinguished from one another because one type of anger (that comes from God) is not a sin and the other type of anger (that is derived from human sin nature) is a sin.
This can be readily applied to Apostles and Prophets who frequently experience the anger of God toward disorder or sin. The purpose of the anger is to cause repentance and work a change by delivering God’s rebuke to those who are in disorder or sin or to write teaching lessons to define disorder or sin so people can see it and repent of it.
Anger of God
Ezekiel 3:14 (NIV)
14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
This is an example of bitterness and anger of the human spirit which was imparted by the Holy Spirit of God to a Prophet. The Prophet Ezekiel was taken away by the Spirit of God and went forth in bitterness and anger of his spirit having his human spirit provoked to anger by the Spirit of God within him. The Holy Spirit of God imparts divine anger into the human spirit of an Apostle or Prophet and this is the source of the holy anger that is directed toward all disorder or sin (which is rebuked by Apostles and Prophets). When the hand of the Lord is upon an Apostle or Prophet, they will experience an anger and a holy rage that is not their own (meaning it is not derived from human sources). Such anger is imparted from the Holy Spirit into the human spirits of the Apostle or Prophet provoking them to anger with a righteous indignation!
Holy Spirit Imparts to Human spirit
1 Corinthians 14:2 (NIV)
2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.
The Holy Spirit communicates to the spirit of a Spirit-filled believer by direct Spirit to spirit communications. All of the Revelation Gifts operate by having the Holy Spirit impart revelation to the human spirit of a believer. When a believer speaks in tongues, they are speaking mysteries within their human spirit. These mysteries are imparted by the Holy Spirit to their human spirit in direct Spirit to spirit communications which bypass natural language. A believer will know something within by spiritual impartation without having any verbal language spoken to them. They then describe their impressions within using their native language and this is how they communicate prophecy from the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:15-16 (NIV)
15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
These scriptures above speak of Spirit-filled believers praying with their human spirits and even singing with their human spirits and praising God with their human spirits. This has to be distinguished from praying with their natural minds or singing with their natural minds or praising God with their natural minds. That which comes from their human spirit is imparted to them by the Holy Spirit allowing them to pray and sing and praise God and utter mysteries first imparted to their human spirits by the Holy Spirit of God.
When I was speaking at the bible college in Mindanao, I delivered a rebuke directly from my human spirit. This rebuke was imparted to my human spirit by the Holy Spirit. It bypassed my natural mind and I spoke it out directly from my human spirit and delivered a rebuke directly from God in explosive manner!
Again, this was an example of righteous anger or holy anger which comes from God and was imparted by the Holy Spirit to my human spirit in direct Spirit to spirit communications. The Holy Spirit can impart revelation and understanding and knowledge of future events or present events by direct Spirit to spirit communications without words. It is a “knowing” within and this is how the revelation gifts operate when an Apostle or Prophet receives revelation of things future or things present or can discern the heart motives of humans. This revelation is imparted directly to their human spirits by the Holy Spirit.
See the link “Led by the Spirit” for more details.
Distinguishing Two Types of Anger
Psalm 4:4 (NIV)
4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah
King David wrote this scripture in Psalms over 1,500 years before the birth of Christ and he said, “In your anger do not sin.” David also spoke about lying on the bed and searching his heart and being silent. This means that when the natural mind is quieted from distracting thoughts and the believer becomes quiet then they can hear their human spirit. At this time, they can examine why they feel angry. If the anger is coming from thoughts of their mind then this is natural human anger and it is a sin that must be repented of. But if they have quieted their minds and discover that their anger comes from their spirit then it is the holy anger of God imparted to their human spirit and for Apostles and Prophets this will be directed toward disorder and sin.
The believer has to listen to the voice of God in the form of an impression imparted to their human spirits rather than an audible voice. God can speak in an audible voice but this may never occur in a lifetime or it could be a “once-in-a-lifetime” occurrence. But the inward witness of the Spirit of God speaking to a Spirit-filled believer is something that can occur on a continual basis and is the chief means of God imparting communications to a believer by spiritual impartation.
Mixing Two Types of Anger Together
When the anger of God comes upon either an Apostle or Prophet it will not be provoked within them by their natural thoughts. But sometimes when God reveals disorder or sin to an immature Apostle or Prophet they may slip into natural human anger and take offense at the one whom God has just exposed. At this point the baby Apostle or Prophet has just added their own human anger together with the anger of God. They may not even be able to tell where one type of anger starts and the other type of anger ends. They can be mixed together so the baby Apostle or Prophet has to learn to discern the source of each type of anger and learn not to mix them together.
Often an immature Apostle or Prophet can take offense at the one whom God has exposed to them. They then behave as if they and God are joined together in anger at this person. But the purpose God revealed the offense was not to cause the Apostle or Prophet to become angry with natural human anger. They are only to direct that knowledge toward a rebuke or toward writing teaching lessons that can expose and set in order those things that are amiss.
This is why it is so vital that Apostles and Prophets be mature before they are released into the ministry or else, they can get angry and offended if they have not been trained to distinguish the two different types of anger.
Baby Apostle Offended
In my own experience God began to reveal things to me by the operation of Revelation Gifts when I was attending a large church in Tulsa Oklahoma in the mid 1980’s. I was just a baby Apostle and had no idea why God was revealing things to me and I had the wrong response. The Spirit of God would impart knowledge to my human spirit and I would know things that others did not know. This worked for anyone standing in the pulpit even if they were just giving announcements or if they were leading praise and worship or if they were a visiting guest speaker. I would know things about them and could tell by Discerning of spirits if they had a good heart and pure motives of if they were defiled or unclean in some way. Word of Knowledge operated to cause me to know things in the present realm. At first, I thought everyone could see what I could see but they could not. I would know if a guest speaker was a charlatan or not but others would say, “Do not touch God’s anointed!” when referring to the same charlatan.
As a baby Apostle I got angry with my own natural human anger at the people God exposed to me (not knowing why I was receiving this knowledge). I was just a member of the congregation and I had no authority to cast anyone out or expose them either. It was not until decades later after I had matured to realize that God was only allowing me to operate in spiritual gifts and these things that were revealed to me were later all confirmed to be true. So, this was encouraging me that I was hearing the voice of God and that the Revelation Gifts were operating accurately within me.
In fact, at that point I did not even know what the office of Apostle was but I could see disorder which others could not see. Later I learned about the office of Apostle and how it operates and learned that I was not to mix the anger of God toward disorder together with my own human anger. It was not a license for me to be angry at people but at that point I was still a baby Apostle and totally ignorant about the operation of Spiritual Gifts.
Baby Apostle Innocent Hearing of God’s Voice
1 Samuel 3:4-7 (NIV)
4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
The first time that God spoke to the young prophet Samuel the lad had no idea that it was the voice of God speaking to him. Innocently he ran to Eli (his foster father) and said, “Here I am for you called me!” Samuel did not yet know the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Samuel was still a child and still learning about spiritual things.
1 Samuel 3:8-10 (NIV)
8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.
9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Samuel had to be instructed by Eli that when the Lord calls him then he is to respond by saying, “Speak, for your servant is listening!” It was after Samuel was taught to respond in the correct manner that God revealed his message to the lad.
In the same way a baby Apostle or Prophet must learn to hear the voice of God and also must have the correction application of the revelation given to them. In my own case as a baby Apostle I had no idea why God was revealing things to me which I could do nothing about. I had the incorrect response of getting angry with human anger toward those who were exposed to me. But if I had a mentor to teach me, they could have told me that God will often allow a baby Apostle to practice by revealing things to them just to give them experience in the operation of revelation gifts. Therefore, there is no need to get angry at the one exposed (with human anger) but just be silent and rejoice at the opportunity to be able to learn to operate in Spiritual Gifts.
Human Anger Not Productive
James 1:20 (NIV2011)
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
Human anger does not produce righteousness that God desires but this is not the case of the anger of God. God’s anger through an Apostle or Prophet can rebuke disorder and sin and bring order and peace into an entire congregation of people! God’s anger produces righteousness because it has the effect of causing people to repent and change and live in righteous manner.
Pet Disorder Rebuked by Apostle
Another time that I experienced the anger of God was when I was invited to speak in a bible school of a large church in the USA. Again, it happened that as I approached the pulpit to speak that suddenly the anger of the Lord came upon me and I cussed out the student body for about ten minutes and then abruptly stopped. It seemed that the message from God was about idolatry that women were having toward pets in the home. After I finished a man came up and told me that his wife was making an idol of her little dog and loved and served that dog more than her own husband. This pet-idolatry was causing disorder in their home and the anger of the Holy Spirit just delivered a raging rebuke against this disorder. I did not see any pets inside the bible school class when I entered but it was the Holy Spirit who delivered this rebuke of the Lord through me. This guilty woman was standing beside her husband when he told me what she was doing at home making an idol of her little dog. This woman however was smug and arrogant and had an unrepentant attitude. She vainly tired to justify her “pet-idol” by saying that she could take her little pet dog to a third world nation and there it could perform some cutesy “doggy-tricks” and draw a crowd and then she could witness to them. I could have told her that in a third-world nation hungry people eat dogs and they would not be interested in her little “trickster” dog other than as a source of food! But she had no ears to hear and remained brazen and showed no fear of God even after hearing a scathing rebuke from God.
Typically, when people do not want to receive a rebuke from God, they will just write it off as a message of human-origin so they do not have to comply with it. So this woman continued with her pet-idolatry the same after the rebuke as before.
Finding Fault with the Delivery Boy
Jeremiah 42:1-6 (NIV)
1 Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached
2 Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.
3 Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”
4 “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the LORD your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the LORD says and will keep nothing back from you.”
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
6 Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.”
In the time of Jeremiah the Prophet the land of Israel was completely destroyed and overthrown by war and invasion as a judgment against the sin of idolatry. The survivors of this great calamity then asked Jeremiah the Prophet to pray to God on their behalf to give them direction about what they should do. These people even made a vow that they would obey whatever the Prophet Jeremiah spoke to them from the mouth of the Lord.
Jeremiah 42:7-22 (NIV)
7 Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.
8 So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.
9 He said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says:
10 ‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you.
11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands.
12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’
13 “However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the LORD your God,
14 and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’
15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there,
16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.
17 Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’
18 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach; you will never see this place again.’
19 “O remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today
20 that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’
21 I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you.
22 So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”
The Lord waited for ten days before he gave an answer to the people through the Prophet Jeremiah. In that time the people had got together and decided to leave Israel and made a decision to seek refuge in the land of Egypt. But God warned them that if they went to Egypt then they would be destroyed by sword and famine and plague in that place they were planning to go.
Jeremiah 43:1-7 (NIV)
1 When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God–everything the LORD had sent him to tell them–
2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’
3 But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”
4 So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people disobeyed the LORD’s command to stay in the land of Judah.
5 Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered.
6 They also led away all the men, women and children and the king’s daughters whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.
7 So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the LORD and went as far as Tahpanhes.
One of the oldest tricks in the book is to find fault with the delivery boy in a vain attempt to relieve themselves of having to obey God’s word delivered to them. When these people did not want to hear the word of the Lord then they found fault with Jeremiah and said he was a liar and that Baruch his scribe was inciting Jeremiah against them to hand them over to the King of Babylon to be destroyed. So, they did not obey the word of the Lord and went to Egypt against the clear command of God delivered to them by Jeremiah the Prophet.
God waited ten days before giving this word of the Lord through Jeremiah to give these people time to firmly make up their own minds and to develop their own human plans. Then God rebuked them and told them they would survive only if they remained in the land of Israel. But they were determined to go to Egypt and would not listen to the word of the Lord given to them by the mouth of Jeremiah the Prophet.
Jeremiah 44:12-14 (NIV)
12 I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to settle there. They will all perish in Egypt; they will fall by the sword or die from famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine. They will become an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach.
13 I will punish those who live in Egypt with the sword, famine and plague, as I punished Jerusalem.
14 None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live; none will return except a few fugitives.”
In Egypt the word of the Lord came and warned the people that they would all be destroyed by sword and famine and plague and none of them would survive except for only a few fugitives (probably only Jeremiah and Baruch who were forced to go with this rebellious bunch into Egypt).
When humans want to disobey God, they will typically find fault with the delivery boy thinking that this will absolve them from having to obey the word of the Lord delivered to them. This is so commonplace that it is “normal behavior” for many believers who receive a rebuke or correction from an Apostle or a Prophet.
Natural and Spiritual Disorder
An Apostle can see both natural and spiritual disorder because he is gifted by the Holy Spirit to see and identify that which is in disorder.
Mark 6:4 (NASB)
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”
Jesus said that a Prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and among his own relatives and those of his own household. This principle can be readily applied to both Apostles and Prophets when they are among their own relatives who are familiar with them and as a result, they do not honor the gift within them nor do they honor their office.
Numbers 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.
2 “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the LORD heard this.
The elder sister of Moses grew too familiar with her younger brother Moses and was aware of his defects and weaknesses. She used this an excuse to try and usurp authority away from Moses in an effort to assume the leadership over the entire congregation for herself.
Numbers 12:4-15 (NIV)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them came out.
5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward,
6 he said, “Listen to my words: “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?”
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam–leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy;
11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.
12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, please heal her!”
14 The LORD replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.”
15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
When Miriam tried to usurp authority away from her younger brother Moses then God did not take this kindly. She was in fact seeking to usurp authority away from the one God had chosen to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt! Miriam was struck with leprosy and banned from the camp because of her sin!
This thing of a brother or sister or mother or father or close relative despising one who has a Fivefold Ministry gift is commonplace. Jesus said that such Fivefold ministry men would be typically be rejected by their own relatives and by members of their own household. Just as Miriam despised her own brother Moses in the same way many relatives will do the same for their family members born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift. But just because they are familiar with their natural human weaknesses this does not mean they have license to despise or reject or disregard their next of kin who happen to be born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift!
In fact, it is a dangerous thing for a family to have one of their members born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift because God will judge those who despise these gifts just as God judged Miriam when she despised her brother Moses who was called as a Prophet of God!
Again, the comparison of the Apostle and the camel can come into play here because what family members often do is point at all of the many weaknesses and short comings and character defects of the Apostle born into their household and thus use that as an excuse to discredit him and what he says entirely. Here the analogy can be used of a camel which has 10,000 fleas. These relatives who do not like Apostles and Prophets (born in their own household) to point out their disorder or sin so they get busying pointing out these 10,000-flea size defects and use this as an excuse to reject the entire “camel-sized” calling and office of Apostle and Prophet who stands among them!
Matthew 23:24 (NIV)
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
The religious leaders in the days of Jesus would become really “technical” about obeying some trivial “gnat-sized” detail while at the same time ignoring the big “camel-sized” principles of God’s word. This is typical behavior of those who are involved in dead religion who get “technical” about trivial nonsense and “gnat-sized” things while ignoring the big-picture “camel-sized” principles of God’s word.
The same is true of pointing out 10,000 “flea-sized” defects in an Apostle or Prophet born in their household while ignoring the huge “camel-sized” calling that stands among them. They suppose they can nullify this calling and discredit him so they do not have to comply with anything that he says. But this type of behavior only works to bring separation between those who are called as Apostles and Prophets and those who reject them as Fivefold Ministry Gifts within their own households.
Titus 3:10 (NIV)
10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.
This principle of giving a person two warnings before cutting them off can be readily be applied to the relationship of Apostles and Prophets to their own kinfolks in the households where they were born. Apostles and Prophets are born with these ministry gifts and they cannot just turn them off in order to keep peace by compromise with those relatives of their own household.
If a person has received two warnings then it is a clear sign that this unrepentant offender is warped and sinful and self-condemned. If they have no ears to hear then there is nothing more that can be said to them.
When I gave the rebuke about “pet-idolatry” in the US bible school that women who was exposed as the offender before God remained arrogant and defiant and would not humble herself before God’s rebuke whatsoever. There was no point in saying anything more to her because she had no ears to hear anyway. I just shook my head in disgust and walked away without saying anything more. Typically, when people are unteachable and refuse correction then God will not waste his words on them anymore. When God restrains the Apostle or Prophet from delivering a rebuke or correction then that means these people have sealed themselves up for hell by their own stubborn refusal to repent. God then cuts himself off from them and will not speak to them anymore and even restrains the Apostles or Prophets (born among them) from speaking to them any further.
This sort of thing often occurs when people play tricks trying to absolve themselves from having to comply with some rebuke delivered by an Apostle or Prophet. When they play games and find-fault with the “delivery-boy” then they show themselves as being unworthy of God’s rebuke and correction. They will typically regulate the words of an Apostle and Prophet as being only of human origin by saying, “That is not God!” This is exactly what the people said to the Prophet Jeremiah after he delivered God’s rebuke to them. But in the end, it was the words of the Prophet Jeremiah that stood firm and all of those rebellious people did perish by sword and famine and plague just as Jeremiah the Prophet had predicted.
This is why it is a dangerous thing when a family has one of their members born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift within their own household! Being too familiar with a relative gives them ample excuse to reject his words as being of human origin and thus they despise his Fivefold Ministry Gift.
Matthew 22:1-7 (NIV)
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:
2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off–one to his field, another to his business.
6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.
7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
This parable communicates spiritual truth and it displays the fact that God gives his servants (Fivefold Ministers) a message to deliver to the people. But when the people reject the message of the servant and even abuse them then this brings the wrath of God! In this parable the king was enraged when they rejected his message sent by his servants. When they rejected his servants, the king took this offense personally as if he himself was rejected himself and so he sent his army and destroyed those wicked people and burned down their city!
This principle has application also for those Fivefold Ministers who were born within households of relatives who despise their gift and reject their words as if their words were only human in origin. When these rebellious relatives reject the words that are carried by an Apostle or Prophet, they are in fact rejecting the words of God which these servants carry. Finding fault with the “delivery-boy” is an age-old trick that people play in order to absolve themselves from having to obey God’s commands delivered by Apostles and Prophets. But it will not go well with them because the King (God) takes this offense personally when they reject his words carried by his servants (the Apostles and Prophets). This can bring judgment upon the heads of relatives who persecute and reject those who are born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift within their own households.
God holds the family members of an Apostle or Prophet to the same level of accountability to obey the message carried by these Apostles and Prophets the same as those who are outside of their family. It is for this reason that it is dangerous for family members to have one of their household born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift because they are in great danger of being destroyed by God for rejecting the message carried by this person (who happens to also be a close relative of theirs).
Yes, they can see all of his human defects because no human is perfect but God uses imperfect vessels to carry his glory. It however is no excuse for them to disregard the calling of a Fivefold Minister entirely just because they can point out the 10,000 flea-sized defects while ignoring the huge “camel-sized” calling of an Apostle or Prophet who stands among their own household.
God’s Standard of Order for the Family
1 Timothy 3:4 (NIV)
4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
The same requirements for being an Elder or Bishop or Pastor also apply to every one of the Fivefold Ministry Gifts. They are to have their own households in order in every way and this even applies to those who do natural service in the church as deacons. If a man does not have his household in order, he is unfit to even sweep the floor in the church as a deacon!
1 Peter 5:3 (NIV)
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
All of the leadership in the church (including all Fivefold Ministers) are to have their own households in order. They are to serve as examples to the flock by showing that their wives are submissive and their children are obedient and there is no type of disorder at home whatsoever. This is the goal of God for every family in the church that they should all come into the divine order of God. The leadership of the church is to be an example of this divine order for the other members of the congregation to follow.
This divine order includes both spiritual and natural things because humans are both spiritual and natural beings and both sides must be put in order in God’s sight. There can be no undisciplined pets chewing up furniture and emitted urine and excrement on carpets and floors. If pets are causing disorder the man of the house should deal with them properly or dispose of them but not allow his women (either wife of daughters) and their female emotions to rule his household and cause disorder. Everything should be clean and orderly and meals planned and organized and boys should be trained with man skills so they can take care of themselves in real life. Girls should be trained in home management skills so they can manage their own homes in adult life when they eventually get married. Everything should be in order from top to bottom in the home of a believer because this is how they let their light shine so that the unbelievers will see this divine order and peace and want to be saved to have the same.
Disorder in Potty Training
I know of a man who was passive about the disorder that existed in his household concerning potty-training his children. He had a passive attitude that said that his children will eventually get tired of wearing diapers and learn to use the toilet instead. His children were growing out of diapers by “old age” and were never trained to use a toilet! I once heard this man (a believer) speak of one of his overgrown diaper-wearing sons getting tired of his dirty diaper and pulling it off and kicking it against the wall splattering excrement all over the wall and the floor! This guy just laughed it off as if this behavior was perfectly normal for children and did not see the terrible disorder that was so evident to me as an Apostle!
When his guy’s sons were visiting his parents, his elderly mother could barely lift the “big-lunk” of a kid onto the diaper change table! This table was made for infant babies with a head board on each end and rails on the sides to keep the baby from rolling off the table. When an infant child is laid in prone position on this table (with his legs fully extended flat) then about a quarter of the length of the table is above and below the head and feet of the infant-sized child. But this big overgrown kid was way “too” big to be using this diaper change table! His head was pressed against the headboard on one end and his buttocks was pressed against the end board on the other end with the full-length of his legs dangling over the end! This kid behaved as if he thought parents (and grandparents) existed only to change his diapers! He put out a massive amount of excrement which was much larger in volume than an infant child could produce. Continually changing disposable diapers for these overgrown kids (who refused to use the toilet) resulted in the outside dumpster being loaded with bulging dirty diapers that reeked of human waste!
All of this mess could have been eliminated if these children were potty trained and did their business in a toilet instead of using disposable diapers! I was amazed at the passivity of this man (who was a believer) to allow his children to grow out of diapers by old age without making any attempt to potty-train them! Even his own parents were passively changing the diapers on these overgrown grandchildren who should have been out of diapers years before!
This passivity in the home was causing “disorder” and wasting money on expensive diapers and causing a mess and a foul odor around the garbage dumpster outside! The excrement should have been flushed in a toilet instead of accumulated in huge numbers of expensive diapers in the dumpster!
In fact, a baby should be potty-trained as soon as they can walk because once they can walk, they can be trained to recognize an urge for a bowel movement and they can learn to walk to the toilet and relieve themselves in the potty instead of in their diapers. My own mother would employ affirmation for potty training her own children while they were just learning to walk. She would watch their face and if the child’s face turned red and their eyes bulged then it appeared that the baby was pushing to have a bowel movement. At that moment my mother would snatch the child and set them on a potty-training chair and try to catch them in time to do their business in this trainer-toilet (rather than in their diaper). This served two purposes in that the young child would learn that when they felt the urge to go then they should go and sit on the toilet. They learned about the urge “feeling” by being set on the potty-trainer every time they were having a bowel movement. When she was able to get them to do their business in this trainer toilet then she would lavishly praise them for their accomplishment! This had the effect of causing the child to learn to recognize the urge for a bowel movement and to go sit on the toilet and do their business there instead of in their diapers! Thus, she was able to train them to use the toilet from a young age. This saved a huge amount of money rather than letting the children grow old wearing diapers and filling the landfill with thousands of dirty diapers because it took many years for a passive parent to wait for his children to get tired of wearing diapers by old age!
This reminds me of when I was in Banaue, Ifugao in the Philippines and a mission’s team from the United States arrived. One of the men in that team displayed the same passive parenting as this passive father who did nothing to potty-train his own children. This man never spanked or used the rod of correction according to biblical mandate but instead let his kid run wild! We were all sitting at a large table in a restaurant and this man was just sitting there with his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his own hand while his “monster” of a kid was yelling and screaming and running around tearing things up and overturning things in that public place! Others at the table made hints to this lame and passive father about the bad behavior of his wild son but this guy remained motionless like a statute as if he had no idea of what was going on with the terrible undisciplined behavior of his son. Finally, after being repeatedly “needled” by these remarks about his undisciplined son this passive man finally responded saying, “Yeah right, why doesn’t he act his own age!” (as if this behavior was completely normal and it was something that the child would eventually grow out of with old age)!
This passive father displayed that he had no knowledge of the bible mandate concerning child discipline and yet he was part of a missionary team as if he thought he was going to come and teach someone in the Philippines how to put their lives in order. He was in fact an example of the worse disorder that could be imagined in the home of a believer and he did not know the least thing about disciplining his own child.
Such a guy was himself spiritually immature as if he was the one wearing “spiritual” diapers and being a baby that needs to be carried around and bottle fed. In no case could such a man ever qualify to help anyone else when he was in desperate need of help himself! Under no circumstance should such a man even consider coming on a mission team for ministry to others when even deacons are banned from sweeping the floor in the church if their own children are disobedient and unruly and if such men have their own households in disorder. Disorder in the home is a sign of spiritual immaturity which disqualifies them from all leadership positions in the church (even that of being a deacon).
The worst part of all of this was that this man was unteachable and saw nothing wrong with the bad behavior of his own son! He was just like the passive guy who thought it was normal for his children to grow out of diapers by old age and to kick dirty diapers against the wall as if they were angry that someone was not serving them by changing their full diapers (instead of using a toilet) like other kids of their own age.
When an Apostle is living among disorder, he will constantly be speaking out against the disorder that he sees. This however will typically not be accepted by relatives who do not honor his gift and have no ears to hear. It is this conflict of disorder against the divine order brought by the Apostle that brings division.
See the link “Sword of Division” for more details.
Matthew 10:34-36 (NIV)
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law–
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
The principle of the “sword of division” readily applies to households where there is an Apostle or Prophet born among them. The Apostles will always confront disorder and Prophets will always confront sin. This is not a popular thing with relatives who do not want to change or repent or put away disorder. Therefore, family members will typically find fault with the one who is born with an Apostle or Prophet gift. They will not receive his words as coming from God but want to do their own thing. They do not have ears to hear and as a result this forces a separation. Jesus describes this separation as a sword which divides family members within the same household. When some refuse to compromise while others live in compromise then there is going to be a separation between those who speak the truth and those who have no ears to hear.
2 Thessalonians 3:14 (NIV)
14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.
The Apostle Paul sent letters of instruction to put things in order within the church. He however said that if anyone does not obey this instruction (given by an Apostle) then they were to take note of that person and not associate with him. This means that such a person does not honor the office of Apostle (of the one who gave the instructions) and because he did not receive God’s word given by an Apostle then he was rejecting the words sent by God through and Apostle. If such a one has no ears to hear then they were to be “disassociated” which speaks of “separation” of those who obey God from those who take instructions from God in light manner.
Apostle and Prophets Separated from Relatives
It is commonplace that both Apostles and Prophets will find themselves separated from relatives of the household where they were born into. They cannot compromise as an Apostle and they will always expose disorder in the same way that Prophets will always expose sin. This is not a popular activity among those who do not want to change so eventually a separation will take place.
Jesus Family Failed to Honor Him
Mark 3:20-21 (NIV)
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.
21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
The half brothers and sisters of Jesus were able to poison the mind of his mother Mary convincing her that Jesus was out of his mind! So, they all went down as a family group and intended to take custody of Jesus as if he was crazy and needed to be locked up in a “padded-room” for his own safety!
Jesus was the only perfect man that ever lived on earth and yet his own family disdained him and did not honor him as the Son of God. If Jesus (a perfect man) was disdained then how much more Apostles and Prophets who are only human and full of defects will also be disdained by their next of kin?
Matthew 12:46-50 (NIV)
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
It seems here that the half-brothers of Jesus had convinced their mother Mary that Jesus was insane and they were seeking to take him home with them as if he was mad. But the separation had been made between Jesus and his relatives (those who did not want to obey the word of God). Jesus plainly said that his mother and brothers are those who do the will of his Father in heaven. The blood relatives of Jesus were put outside of his circle of friends and those who were placed within his inner circle where those people who listened to the word of God and applied it to their lives. It was these “teachable” people who were closer to Jesus than his own mother and half-brothers (who did not believe in him).
John 7:3-5 (NIV)
3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.
4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
The scriptures plainly state that these half-brothers of Jesus never believed in him and did not honor his gift and never considered him as the Son of God! If such disrespect was given to Jesus the Son of God then how much more will Apostles and Prophets be rejected by their own relatives who do not acknowledge their Fivefold Ministry Gifts. Typically, parents and siblings will all reject the one called by God and disdain their gift and show no honor to follow anything that he says from God. Only a few of the half-brothers of Jesus came to believe in him in the end. But the rest of them probably perished in hell for their disdain of Jesus by viewing him only as their natural brother.
Those born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift of Apostle or Prophet can just expect to be separated from relatives within the household of their birth. This is only natural as people sort themselves out by rejecting the gift within the man just because they are too familiar with him. But this is a great danger for such relatives to despise one of their own who happens to be born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift. God will still hold them accountable for not accepting or applying God’s words (even if they are delivered to them by someone who is a near relative).