Projects and Levites
Projects and Levites deals with the fact that God has divine protocol set in place for providing guidance to the body of Christ. God does not stray outside of this system of protocol but speaks to those in authority who are within the divine chain-of-command set up by God.
If businessmen “Givers” will work together with Apostles and Prophets then they would become like a boxer with a powerful left and right-hand punch. The businessmen could handle the natural side while Apostles and Prophets handle the spiritual side. Together they could accomplish great and lasting works by having things done according to divine order. Both the natural side and the spiritual side are necessary before any project can be successful (which is initiated to expand the church or help the poor).
See the link “Gift of Businessman Giver” for more details.
Social Work Under Apostle Authority
Acts 6:1-7 (NIV)
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve (Apostles) gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
In the New Testament Church, the administration of social work was handled by the Apostles who appointed men as deacons to do natural service within the church. These men worked directly under the authority of the Apostles.
Acts 4:34-35 (NIV)
34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
The giving in the church was done under the authority of the Apostles. The contributions were placed at the Apostle’s feet which speaks of having dominion or authority.
1 Corinthians 15:25-27 (NIV)
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.
The expression “under his feet” is used to describe that authority God has placed in Christ because everything comes under the authority of the Lord and is therefore referred to as being under his feet!
Joshua 10:23-25 (NIV)
23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave–the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon.
24 When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.
25 Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”
Joshua told his commanders to place their feet on the necks of these conquered kings as a display of their authority over their enemies.
Ephesians 1:22 (NIV)
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
Again, God placed all things under the feet of Jesus and appointed him to be the head over everything for the church on earth. Repeatedly the expression “under his feet” is used to refer to having authority.
Acts 4:36-37 (NIV)
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),
37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
When donations were given to the church the donors brought the money and placed it at the Apostles’ feet (which denotes Apostolic authority over the finances of the church).
Acts 5:1-2 (KJV)
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Repeatedly the scriptures show that when donations were brought to the church it was laid at the Apostles’ feet indicating that in the early church the oversight of finances was entrusted to the care of the Apostles.
The reason for this was that the Fivefold Ministry Gift of Apostle typically has the operation of the “Spiritual Gifts” of the category of revelation gifts. There are three revelation gifts and these are:
1. Word of Wisdom to know things future.
2. Word of Knowledge to know things present
3. Discerning of spirits to know human heart motives and also discern the presence of ministry gifts.
See the link “Spiritual Gifts” for more details.
It is the operation of “Spiritual Gifts” that enables an Apostle to discern human heart motives and know things present and know things future. It is the operation of these gifts that stops financial fraud in its tracks!
Acts 5:3-5 (NIV)
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
It was the operation of the Spiritual Gift of “Word of Knowledge” that enabled Apostle Peter to know that Ananias and his wife held back part of the proceeds of their donation for themselves. It was the operation of the Spiritual Gift of “Discerning of spirits” that revealed the secret heart motives of Ananias and his wife who were trying to garner human praises for appearing to be more sacrificial than they really were. It is the operation of “Revelation Gifts” that will stop all financial fraud and expose all evil human motives within the church.
1 Timothy 5:3-5 (NIV)
3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.
4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
5 The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.
If people came to partake of the feeding program who had children at home then they would be sent away and told that their children should honor their parents by caring for them. The widows who were fed by the church were those who were really destitute and had no children or family to care for them. Those who tried to embezzle support from the church would be exposed immediately by the Apostles who operate by the Revelation Gifts to know things present and to discern human heart motives. It was for this reason that the donations given to the church were placed at the Apostles’ feet speaking of the money being given under the authority of the Apostles who oversaw the administration of these social projects within the church to care for widows and orphans.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
But freeloaders who are too lazy to work were not permitted to partake of the feeding program of the church. Those who were capable of working were required to work for their own food. Those fed by the church were widows and orphans who were unable to earn their own livelihood due to old age or being too young to work. Anyone trying to falsely pose as a needy widow would immediately be exposed by the Apostles and forbid to partake of the feeding program reserved for those who were “truly” needy.
It is evident therefore that social projects like feeding the poor was something that was to be done under the authority of the Apostles (who operated by Revelation Gifts) which put a stop to all financial fraud within the church. In no case did people under the NT church operate their own social projects out from under the authority of the Apostles.
Social Projects Initiated by Businessmen
I know of a businessman who placed the funds of his business profits into his own foundation and then used these funds to initiate is own social projects outside of the avenue of giving to the church under the authority of Apostles.
He did one project in Liberia West Africa and another project in Peru. He invested millions of dollars in both projects but both of these projects came to failure. The people in West Africa were engaged in demon-worship culture called “spirit-appeasement” and the people in Peru were involved with idol-worship. Spirit appeasement is where native people offer sacrifices to demons in order to appease the demons in order to avoid bad-luck or calamity and idolatry is praying to idols for help instead of God. But both of these practices bring a curse from the jealous God and are forbidden by God’s commands. Therefore, trying to provide a social project to bless or help people who are engaged in demonic culture of demon-appeasement or idol-worship will bring a curse to those who seek to help them. This was the reason for his project failure in both of these countries where he initiated social projects to help the native people.
See the link “Idolatry-Curse of a Nation” for more details.
There is a biblical principle that God will not skip over ordained channels of authority and speak to someone who is not in charge. This principle also applies to businessmen who suppose they can make their own money and do what they want with that money and give where they want to give. It is evident when these businessmen experience total project failure that these projects were not ordained by God. Often such a businessman will have wrong motives in giving only seeking to get into the newspaper headlines or have human praise for being a “do-gooder” type of person but they are in fact not building the kingdom of God on earth.
The church is to be under the authority of the Apostles and Prophets and any social projected initiated by believers is to come under the authority of the Fivefold Ministry Gifts of Apostles and Prophets.
I know of an elderly couple who setup a memorial foundation before they passed away and deposited over 5.5 million dollars of their estate into this foundation. However, they appointed a woman manager to oversee their foundation and did not give under the authority of Apostles. This woman administrator makes financial decisions using “feminine-thinking” of “equality-for-all” which also includes pets. She was giving donations from this foundation to support “Pet-Rescue” saying that stray dogs and cats are important too! This is an example of misuse of money which was not placed under the authority of Apostles but was placed in a foundation run by lay-people who do not perceive what is important in the sight of God. Jesus did not die for animals (which do not have an eternal spirit). Only humans have an eternal spirit and the function of the church is to help people (not stray dogs and cats)! But this type of perverse use of money is perfectly logical to the feminine mind of a woman administrator who believes that animals are just as important as people!
See the link “Social Work Failure” for more details
This type of misuse of the Lord’s money would not occur if the funds were placed under the authority of Apostles who can discern human heart motives and therefore do not support fraud organizations which only exist to create a livelihood for those who operate them. Those who are unworthy of support will not receive contributions from Apostles (who operate by Revelation Gifts)!
Authority within the Church
1 Corinthians 12:28 (NIV)
28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers. . .
Within the church the first position of authority is the Apostles and second the Prophets and third the bible Teachers. Often these men will operate in a dual-gift of both Apostle/Teacher or Prophet/Teacher. These are the men who were in charge of decision-making in the early church and this included decision making for financial matters as well. This is why the donations of the early church were placed at the feet of the Apostles (under their authority) to administer the finances using the operation of Revelation Gifts.
See the link “Fivefold Ministry Gifts” for more details.
Acts 13:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Ministry outreach was also initiated in the church by those who were Prophets and Teachers. This means that the dual-gift of Prophet/Teacher was evident in these men by the evidence of the spiritual fruit in their lives. It was these men who could recognize the presence of a Fivefold Ministry Gift in others by the operation of “Discerning of spirits” which commonly operate on both Apostles and Prophets. These men received direction from the Holy Spirit to separate both Barnabas and Saul for the work of the ministry. These men laid hands on them which was ordination of a Fivefold Minister by a fellow Fivefold Minister. These men could discern the calling of God upon Barnabas and Saul and they discerned that these men had the spiritual maturity and it was the time and season to release them into ministry.
Never should laymen attempt to lay hands on a Fivefold Minister to ordain them because without the Revelation Gift of “Discerning of spirits” a layman cannot tell the difference between a “ministry-intruder” and one who is called by God as a Fivefold Ministry Gift. Ordination is therefore to be practiced only by Fivefold Ministry Gifts who recognize the gift in other Fivefold Ministry Gifts. Laying hands on the ministry candidate in public before the people is to endorse them publicly as having a gift and a calling from God so that people can follow and support those who are ordained by other proven Fivefold Ministry Gifts.
Leadership in the church was under the authority of Apostles and Prophets and new leadership was appointed by the Apostles and Prophets. Humans were not in charge of appointing leadership but it was the Holy Spirit speaking through ordained channels of authority (of the Apostles and Prophets) which appointed new leadership by ordination and to oversee financial management and make leadership decisions based upon the operation of revelation gifts.
Example of Divine Authority within Marriage
1 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV)
3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
The divine chain-of-command can be seen in the relationship between God and Christ and the head of the household who is the man. God is the head of Christ and Christ is the head of the man and man is the head of the woman (and parents are in authority over their children). God will not violate his own chain-of-command to skip over the head of the household and give direction to his wife. If a woman claims that God told her such and such (as related to direction for the family) then she is in error. God will not speak to the wife and give her direction for the household because the woman is not the head of the household but her husband is.
The problem with women leadership is that God deprived the women of masculine logic which can see the big picture and can see the long-term results of a particular course of action. Eve for example was only focused on obtaining her feminine equality with God and did not consider the long-term effects of her actions when she ate the forbidden fruit and brought a curse to the entire world!
Women will typically focus on the most superficial and cosmetic things being unable to see what is essential or important in making masculine leadership decisions. This is why God appointed the leadership role to men and God requires women to submit to their own male authority in the home.
God may speak to the woman about certain personal matters or speak to her about raising her children but God most certainly will not speak to the woman and give her guidance pertaining to family direction. Such guidance is only allocated to the man who is the head of the household and this direction is given to him because he is ordained by God to be the leader over his wife and children.
See the link “Head Covering and Submission” for more details.
Divine Chain of Command in the Church
But just as God has an ordained a divine chain-of-command for the family so God also has a divine chain-of-command pertaining to the church and the outworking of God’s plans on earth through the church.
1 Corinthians 12:28 (NIV)
28 And in the church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers . . .
God has a divine chain-of-command for the church and Apostles and Prophets are the first and second positions listed in order of importance. The Apostles provide the fruit of divine order and the Prophets provide the fruit of holiness and the fear of the Lord. It is divine order and holiness and fear of the Lord which are the foundation upon which everything else in the church is built upon.
Ephesians 2:19-20 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
The Apostles and Prophets are the foundation upon which everything in the church is built upon with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone.
See the link “Fivefold Ministry Gifts” for more details.
It is interesting however that the two most important Fivefold Ministry Gifts are largely never even mentioned from the pulpits in most churches today. In fact, few people even recognize the office of Apostle which is the first in importance and not many even recognize the office of the Prophet which is second in importance. Basically, the only two gifts that are ever mentioned are those of the Evangelist and the Pastor. The Evangelist is a gift for unbelievers outside of the church to win souls to the Lord and the Pastor is basically an elder who provides oversight over a congregation of people much like a shepherd gives oversight over a flock of sheep. But these two commonly acknowledged gifts do not even rank in the top three positions of the church which are occupied by the Apostle and Prophet and Teacher.
If the most important two offices of Apostle and Prophet are rarely recognized in the church then how can the believers ever receive benefit from these gifts when they are unaware of their existence?
Corporate Guidance for the Church
The topic to be discussed here is the role of the Apostle and Prophet in providing guidance for the Church. The Apostle and Prophet commonly operate in the “Revelation Gifts” which are a category found under the “Spiritual Gifts” and as such these gifts reveal something and provide direction for the church.
See the link “Spiritual Gifts” for more details.
The Apostle and Prophet can operate in the gift of “Discerning of spirits” to discern the heart motives of humans. This gift is vital when appointing leadership because if the wrong leader is appointed into office then they can wreak havoc in the church! The gift of “Discerning of spirits” also works to discern who possesses a Fivefold Ministry Gift and who does not. The Discerning of spirits can tell the difference between a laymen intruder and a man born with a Fivefold Ministry Gift.
I know of an Apostle who went to South Africa in the early 1900’s and he had the operation of the Word of Knowledge manifest to know everything about that country without any nationals or locals telling him anything. In fact, he knew more about the country than the nationals themselves did because of the operation of the gift of Word of Knowledge which revealed present knowledge about what was taking place in that country.
I experienced this myself as an Apostle when I went to the Philippines and the Word of Knowledge manifested and I knew what was happening in that nation. This was not knowledge gained from any natural sources but by inward witness of knowing current events through the operation of Word of Knowledge.
I once visited a college campus in Dumaguete City on Negros Island and some college students there tried to give me their alternative view of things in contrast to the truth. I immediately rebuked them and corrected their false narrative that they were trying to pawn-off on me as a foreigner. They were shocked and left speechless because they had no argument or anything that they could say about the revelation I spoke to them concerning the real condition of their nation! They knew what I told them was the truth and they had nothing they could say to refute that truth! I received this truth not from any natural sources but by the operation of the Word of Knowledge to know current knowledge of what was happening in that nation at that time.
The Apostle who went to South Africa also had a trouble-maker come to him and try to give him an alternative point of view of what was really happening there. As this man was speaking however the Apostle immediately knew that the real trouble-maker was this man who was speaking to him! This man was throwing up a smoke screen and blaming others and describing scenarios that did not exist in reality. But the Apostle knew by Word of Knowledge that this man was a liar. It was for this reason he did not act upon the false information given to him by this fraudster.
This again is an example of why God appointed the leadership of the church to be held by the first and second gifts of importance which are the Apostles and Prophets. These gifts commonly operate in the category of “Spiritual Gifts” called “Revelation Gifts.”
God has placed the offices of Apostle and Prophet in the church for this reason and these two gifts are commonly distinguished by the operation of the “Revelation Gifts.” These gifts are intended by God to put things in order within the church. This would save untold trouble if Apostles and Prophets were sought for direction before any type of projects are initiated.
I also know of a man who borrowed over a million USD to expand his church building in the Philippines. But he never saw the project come to completion because the builders were dragging on the project continually and milking out his funds without accomplishing anything. I was aware of this fact by the operation of Word of Knowledge but this man did not have ears to hear and just continued paying on his construction loan debts without regard for what was happening on his construction site. Now there is a huge debt and nothing has been accomplished because these vulture-contractors gobbled up all of his construction loan money without finishing any project!
Businessmen Not Seeking Guidance
Again, when the businessman invested millions in a social project in Liberia Africa and millions in Peru South America, he lost it all because he was trying to bless those who were cursed by God. He did everything possible to help the people become self-sufficient and productive. But the problem was the existence of some key-heart issues that were left unresolved with these people he endeavored to help and so his project came to nothing.
Curse from Helping the Cursed
2 Chronicles 20:35-37 (NASB)
35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing.
36 So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah was a godly king and was blessed by God for obeying God’s laws. The son of Ahab (Ahaziah King of Israel) was godless and profane and broke all of God’s laws. This wicked man wanted to partake of the blessings which Jehoshaphat enjoyed which were a product of Jehoshaphat’s obedience to God. Jehoshaphat however was foolish to attempt to do a joint-business venture together with this wicked King Ahaziah.
But God will not allow his blessings given to the godly king to also be shared by a wicked king who broke God’s laws! It was for this reason that God destroyed this business venture and the ships were ruined and unable to set sail. (They were probably destroyed by a strong typhoon while they sat in the dry docks while yet under construction because they were never completed but destroyed before they could be launched)!
The principle to see here is that God will not allow the blessings of the righteous to be shared with those who are wicked and cursed by God! This same principle can be applied to a businessman who invests millions in a social project to help poor people. If the businessman does not inquire about what kind of poor people, he is seeking to help he could reap a curse for helping cursed people! If they are poor because of the curse of idolatry and demon-worship then helping that kind of poor people will bring a curse to the giver. Giving to the wicked can cause a giver to unknowingly align himself with demon-worship and idol-worship people who cursed themselves by their own wickedness.
The millions invested in this African and Peru project were lost without any good result because the people he was trying to help were cursed by God and were engaged in demon-worship and idol-worship. God therefore destroyed the works of this businessman who did not seek counsel from an Apostle or a Prophet who could have informed him of the spiritual condition of these people.
Demon-worship and idol-worship brings a curse and causes poverty and every evil thing and seeking to help cursed people will also bring a curse upon those who have determined to bless those whom God has cursed.
In order to have a successful project the businessman needs to have counsel provided by the operation of “Spiritual Gifts” as are commonly manifest by Apostles and Prophets. Apostles set things in order and are the first office of importance in the church and they will be the first ones to know about disorder involved with such a project as this.
The first step is not to help native people with natural things like clearing the land or starting agricultural projects. If these people are engaged in demon-worship or idolatry, they will lose everything that they can be given to them. It would not matter if a rich businessman could cover their country knee-deep in gold coins because if these people worship demons and idols they will be cursed and lose it all immediately! There can be no lasting benefit or blessing for these people until they first repent of demon-worship and idolatry.
Godless liberals who seek only to preserve native culture are often unaware that some native culture brings a curse to the people and should be abolished in the best interests of improving the lives of these people. Human sacrifice is one example of this because those demon-worship cultures that practice spirit appeasement often resort to human sacrifice trying to appease demons. But this sort of activity only brings a curse upon them from God!
It is therefore a vain thing to try and help people who are cursed by God because of their unrepentant sin of demon-worship and spirit-appeasement and idol-worship. Those who seek to bless or help or assist those who are cursed by God will themselves receive God’s curse. This is exactly what happened when the godly King Jehoshaphat sought to share God’s blessings with a wicked man who worshiped demons. Their joint-business venture was destroyed by God because of this evil alliance which promised to share God’s blessing with someone who is evil in God’s sight.
The same was also true of these social projects in Africa and Peru because this businessman sought to bring blessing to those who worship demons and idols and thus his projects resulted in failure and his capital was lost. This failure was due to him trying to bless those who are cursed without seeking counsel from an Apostle who could have informed him of all of these things.
Being a god unto Themselves
There exists a situation where there are Christian businessmen who assume that they can make their own money and they can also do what they want with that money by starting their own social projects. It was just such a scenario which caused this businessman to invest millions dollars in a project in Western Africa and millions in Peru which both resulted in total failure.
If a businessman claims that God speaks to him about such matters (then experiences total project failure) then this means that he was not hearing God’s voice about his project. In this situation it is the same as if a wife claims that God speaks to her and gives her direction for her family. This is not true because God honors his own chain-of-command and he only gives direction for the family to the head of the household (who is the man). God does not skip over the head of the household to give direction to the wife! For a wife to claim otherwise would be a case of total female self-deception and rebellion against ordained authority for the home.
But the exact same situation can exist with a businessman who determines he will invest his own money into his own projects. Such a man assumes that if he made the money then he has the right to do with it as he sees fit. But if he is a believer and God blessed him with that money then it is actually God’s money and not his own to do with it as he pleases.
When dealing with Christian projects (such as these initiated in Liberia and Peru) this businessman needed to go through the proper chain-of-command and seek guidance from God through an Apostle and Prophet who have the “Revelation Gifts” in operation in their ministries. The Apostle can set things in order with the people and make sure they repent of demon-worship and spirit-appeasement and idol worship before the businessman seeks to help them with a social project. If the businessman will seek guidance from an Apostle then he will not lose his investment as happened to the businessman who invested millions of his own money in several projects only to lose it all and have total project failure. First, the people must be set free from demonic-culture and idolatry before they can be candidates for being blessed by a social project of this kind.
This type of thing falls under the jurisdiction of God’s appointed Apostles because they have divine authority to see things that natural eyes cannot see. This comes from the operation of “Revelation Gifts” which enables them to discern the heart motives of humans, to have a Word of Knowledge of present things and to have a Word of Wisdom for future events that have not yet transpired.
The Apostle could therefore be of immense help to the businessman who wants to put a large social project into effect overseas. The Apostle can give him the information that he needs which is not available from natural news sources or even from national informant sources. The Revelation Gifts operate in the Apostle for just such a reason so that businessmen like this will not waste huge investment capital on failed projects by going forward without the knowledge God provides through an Apostle.
But if these businessmen declare that they can hear God’s voice themselves, then they display their ignorance of God’s divine protocol. They can no more hear God about such a project themselves than a wife can hear God for direction for the family. God does not skip over the husband (to give leadership direction for the family) to the wife any more than God will skip over the Apostle to give direction to a laymen businessman in matters concerning the kingdom of God upon the earth. This includes social projects operated as a ministry or outreach of the church or by a body of believers. The Apostles were in charge of feeding widows and orphans in the church and this means that all social projected initiated by the church are to be under the jurisdiction of God’s appointed Apostles (and Prophets) who work together to provide leadership for the church.
If the beneficiaries of the proposed project can be saved and cleaned up from demon-worship culture and idolatry then they can qualify for God’s blessing. But these matters belong to the Apostle not the businessman! It is the Apostle who can get the people cleaned up or he can inform the businessman that they are not worthy of the benefit because they have refused to repent of their demonic culture. Thus, these unrepentant sinners will bring a curse upon the businessman who insists on blessing those who are cursed by God.
Giving to Layman Intruder Curses Businessman
I once met a laymen intruder in the Philippines who told me that a rich American businessman promised to send him large monthly financial support from the profits of his business. But as soon as this promise was made then this same businessman wrote that Filipino man and told him that he did not know what happened but he suddenly experienced a business reversal and lost all of his money and his business went broke. This occurred almost immediately after he had promised to give a large monthly donation to this layman-intruder in the Philippines. I knew immediately what happened because as an Apostle I have the operation of the “Revelation Gifts” and I knew by Discerning of spirits that this Filipino man was an “laymen-intruder” who was not called into the Fivefold Ministry. Again, the gift of Discerning of spirits also operates to discern who has a Fivefold Ministry Gift and who does not.
Leviticus 22:10 (NASB)
10 ‘No layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a sojourner with the priest or a hired man shall not eat of the holy gift.
The fact of the matter is that no laymen (someone not called to the Fivefold Ministry) is permitted to eat sacred tithes and offerings given by the people to God. Anything given to God becomes holy and those laymen who eat the holy things are committing an offense against God!
Leviticus 22:14 (NIV)
14 “‘If anyone eats a sacred offering by mistake, he must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it.
If any layman eats a sacred offering (something that was given to God in worship) then he has sinned and must make restitution by paying back what he consumed unlawfully (plus adding a 20% surcharge in addition) in order to pay for his crime.
I knew by the operation of the Discerning of spirits that this Filipino man was not a NT Levite but only a layman-ministry-intruder. I also knew by the operation of Word of Knowledge that this businessman lost his business and he went broke because he promised to give tithes and offerings to someone who was not called into the Fivefold Ministry and therefore giving to such a man is a sin and crime against God. Laymen intruders are not permitted to consume sacred tithes and offerings given to God because these belong only to those called into the Fivefold Ministry.
Therefore, when this businessman promised to give money to this laymen intruder then his own business was cursed and he lost his money and was unable to give anything to this layman-ministry-intruder who was intruding into the holy office by his own initiative.
Here again if the businessman could have contacted an Apostle, he could have been informed that he was about to support a layman ministry intruder and the Apostle could have saved him from having his business crash and come to nothing!
These types of things are no joke but someone might say, “Well this Christian businessman is a believer so why would not God just tell him not to give to this fraud intruder?” Again, the principle to be seen here is the same reason as why God speaks to the husband who is the head of the household and does not speak to the wife and give her direction for the family! It would be a breach of divine protocol to skip over the head of the household to speak to the wife rather than the husband.
The wife may have some limited personal direction or some direction for raising her children but she is not going to hear any direction for leadership of the family. That direction specifically belongs to the husband as head of the household (not to the wife).
In the same way God will speak to the businessman about some personal matters and God will give him direction in business matters but when the businessman attempts to bless a laymen-ministry-intruder then he is dabbling in the affairs of the Apostle! In fact his giving is to be done under the authority of the Apostles (by laying the money at the feet of the Apostles).
So, in this sense we can say that “NO” God does not speak to the businessman about where to give his money. If God spoke to this businessman in my example, he would not have promised to give money to a layman ministry intruder! But God did not speak to the businessman about this matter and as a result the businessman went broke and his business came to complete ruination!
God placed Apostles in the Church for just such a purpose as this. If the businessman would seek counsel from an Apostle then he could have avoided these pitfalls that led to his own ruination. Why didn’t God speak to this businessman and warn him? It is because this matter belongs to the affairs of the Apostle who operates in the “Revelation Gifts” and can discern disorder in the church.
This fake layman-ministry- intruder was meddling in the church where he did not belong and was consuming holy gifts that had been given to God in worship. So that layman-intruder was cursed and anyone who attempted to bless this cursed layman-ministry-intruder also experienced a curse themselves. No one can bless someone who is cursed by God and this is how this businessman received a curse and this is the reason that his business went broke!
Again, God will speak to the businessman in some personal matters and about some business matters but when the same businessman starts to dabble in things like giving money to a layman ministry intruder then this belongs to the affairs of an Apostle. God speaks to the Apostle and reveals who is a layman intruder but God does not speak to the businessman about this matter. God honors his own divine protocol and chain-of-command. This type of thing belongs to the Apostle and God will not skip over the Apostle to give the direction directly to the businessman.
2 Kings 3:9-12 (NIV)
9 So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
10 “What!” exclaimed the king of Israel. “Has the LORD called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?”
11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?” An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”
12 Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
Notice that in the time when three kings and their armies were on a military expedition through the desert to take putative action against Moab that they were in need of having God’s direction. The godly King Jehoshaphat asked if there was a Prophet of the Lord present whom they could inquire of. So, Jehoshaphat and the king of Israel and the king of Edom all three went to Elisha the Prophet to inquire of the Lord to receive divine direction.
It should be noted here that if these kings could hear God’s direction for themselves then they would have no need of going to the Prophet for help! But God did not speak to these kings directly but instead God required them to humble themselves and go to the Prophet to receive God’s direction.
The Prophet was placed on a higher level than the king and the king was subject to listen to the Prophet. God does not violate his own divine protocol and will not skip over the Prophet to speak to the king directly. The king had to go to the Prophet in order to receive God’s direction in these matters.
The same is true of the Christian businessman who stands in the role of a king who wins financial battles and receives spoils of war from the world’s system. God may speak to him about certain personal and business matters but God will not skip over the Apostles and Prophets to speak direction to the businessman (the king) about matters pertaining to the kingdom of God. Any giving toward social projects comes under the authority of the Apostles (and also Prophets) which operate in revelation gifts.
If the businessman decides that he can make his own money and do what he wants with his money and so he initiates his own social projects then he will in fact be meddling in spiritual things. If he tries to give blessing to those who are cursed as demon-worshipers or idol-worshipers then he will receive a curse himself. If he tries to give money to a layman ministry intruder (simply because he cannot tell the difference between an intruder and a real Fivefold Ministry Gift) then he will reap a curse for giving into cursed ground.
The Apostle and Prophet have the gift of Discerning of spirits operate to tell who possesses a Fivefold Ministry Gift.
Acts 13:1-3 (NASB)
1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
If the laymen businessman will only give to someone who is ordained by an Apostle and Prophet then they will never receive a curse for giving to a layman ministry intruder. But if the same laymen businessman suppose they can hear God for themselves and have no need of Apostles or Prophets and proceed to give to a laymen ministry intruder (or even promise to give to them) they can reap a curse and lose their business and go completely bankrupt!
God does not speak to the layman businessman about who is a ministry intruder because that is the affairs of the Apostle and Prophet. God does not skip over the Apostle and Prophet and speak directly to a layman businessman about matters pertaining to the church or ministry!
But the carnal church today does not even acknowledge the two most important gifts in the church (which are the Apostles and Prophets). The only mention they make of any type of ministry gifts in the church are basically just a Pastor or an Evangelist. The silence about other gifts leaves the false impression that there are no other gifts simply because they are never mentioned! But just because the number one and number two gifts in importance are largely ignored that does not mean they do not exist.
God still uses the Apostles and Prophets to give direction concerning things involving the church and the ministry. If a businessman seeks to do his own social project then he is in fact meddling in the affairs of the Apostle and Prophet who are in charge of such things. Apostles and Prophets operate by “Revelation Gifts” and they know what is going on in each country and who is called to the ministry and who is not. They also can discern “rice-Christians” who only “fake-it” in order to receive free handouts. All of the knowledge that the businessman needs to have a successful social project is revealed by God to the Apostles and Prophets.
But if the businessman is arrogant and thinks he has no need of help from an Apostle or Prophet then he will flounder on his own and lose everything he invested and have a failed project that comes to ruination and he is even is in danger of having a business reversal and going bankrupt. That is all because he is blundering forward in haphazard manner without consulting with an Apostle or Prophet and falsely assuming he can hear God for himself.
But again, God does not violate his own divine protocol and God will not skip over the Apostles and Prophets in order to speak to the businessman directly about these matters. The businessman better not give to anyone who has not been ordained by a real Apostle or Prophet otherwise he is in danger of supporting a layman ministry intruder. There are numerous fake churches that are nothing but dead social clubs run by laymen ministry intruders and giving to any of these will bring a curse.
Sometimes God’s grace will cover people when they are ignorant but once they have been enlightened by the truth then they are responsible to obey it. Those who know better will typically have immediate effect of a curse when they give to a layman ministry intruder after they have already been warned by God through an Apostle or Prophet.
Just reading this lesson is enough to give anyone warning so that they will be held responsible if they give to an laymen ministry intruder. Only those who are endorsed by an Apostle or Prophet are authorized to receive sacred gifts given to God. The Apostles and Prophets typically operate with Discerning of spirits and this gift also works to discern who possesses a Fivefold Ministry Gift. Only those who possess a Fivefold Ministry Gift are qualified to receive sacred tithes and offerings!
Giving to laymen intruders who are impostors posing as Fivefold Ministers will bring a curse. Typically, businessmen are unable to tell the difference between a layman ministry intruder and a real Fivefold Minister so they need to give only to those they have been endorsed by real Apostles and Prophets who operate using the gift of Discerning of spirits to tell who has a Fivefold Ministry gift and who does not.
When a social project is carried on under a Christian pretext then this falls under the jurisdiction of an Apostle because things dealing with the church or the ministry are under the Apostle’s care. God will not skip over the Apostle to speak directly to the businessman about these matters because they belong to the church and are part of the ministry.
If the people get saved and repent of idol worship then it is possible that they can qualify to receive the benefits of such a project. But if they refuse to repent the Apostle can inform the businessman not to invest. If the businessman insists on having it his own way and tries to bless those who are cursed by God then he is in danger of losing his own business and going broke. But it will be his own fault for trying to do things without the Apostle.
2 Chronicles 26:16-21 (NIV)
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in.
18 They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God.”
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him.
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house–leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
King Uzziah was lifted up in pride because of the great success the Lord had granted to him and because of his great wealth. When he grew arrogant Uzziah assumed that he could boldly enter the temple and offer incense in the role of a priest. But this was a grave breech of divine protocol because only the priest was allowed to offer incense before God. When the Levite priests withstood this arrogant king then Uzziah raged against them for daring to tell him what to do! But then Uzziah was struck with leprosy on his forehead. The forehead speaks of pride and his pride was marred by an incurable skin disease that left him unclean and defiled. Uzziah was banned from the temple of God and lost his kingdom and was banned from being a king and lived in seclusion for the rest of his life as an unclean leper!
The principle to see here is that a king does not qualify to stand in the office of a priest. In the same way a businessman (king) does not qualify to stand in the office of an Apostle (priest) and if he assumes to do so he will be defiled by God! This happened to numerous businessman who grew arrogant thinking that if they made their own money, they could do whatever they want with it and start their own social projects.
But the sin nature (represented by the leprosy) defiles everything that they touch. They end up doing social works to have praise of man or get into the newspaper headlines or on television or have people say that they are a good person. Soon their motives for giving are defiled and all that they do is cursed.
If they seek to give to a layman ministry intruder or bless people involved in idol-worship or demon-worship then they will be cursed by God and can even lose their business. This is like King Uzziah who intruded into the office of a priest and was cursed and defiled and was banned from the temple and also banned from his own kingdom and died in seclusion as a defiled leper!
A businessman who seeks to bless those who are cursed by God can lose his business entirely and become like Uzziah who lost his kingdom and ended up with nothing!
Notice that God does not allow a king to intrude in the role of a priest. The same principle also applies to a layman businessman trying to intrude in the office of an Apostle. Such a businessman will not hear God’s voice or direction about anything pertaining to the ministry and that is why these businessmen typically lose millions after they try to start their own social work projects with their own money without consulting an Apostle and so they come to ruination and their projects are rendered worthless.
I know of another American businessman who is reported to have started 200-churches in the Philippines. But I knew immediately by Word of Knowledge that these so-called churches he started were nothing but a collection of buildings and fake laymen hirelings (not called into the Fivefold Ministry). This type of thing has nothing to do with the kingdom of God but is only a big show of numbers so some businessman can brag about how many churches he started. But he is not building the kingdom of God but only glorifying his own name with a lot of buildings and hireling fake pastors. This type of thing is an example of building human kingdoms on the earth without doing anything whatsoever for the Kingdom of God!
When businessmen assume to use their own money to do their own thing (like starting social projects or fake church groups) then they are meddling in the affairs of an Apostle. God will not skip over the Apostle to speak to them about these matters. So, they are in fact like sheep gone astray and God is not involved in anything that they are doing.
Kings had to go to the Prophet to inquire of God and kings were not allowed to intrude in the holy office of the priest. God has a divine protocol and businessman (kings) cannot assume they have license to do whatever they want with their own money. If it is not given to real Fivefold Ministry Gifts (or projects supervised by Apostles) then all they do will come to ruination.
Gift Not Given for Holder of Gift
It should be noted that a gift is not given by God so that the holder of that gift can be blessed. This can be seen by the example of a healing evangelist. In the 1940’s following the great depression a wave of healing swept over the United States. There were numerous healing evangelists who operated at this time and many thousands of people were healed. But at the same time many of these healing evangelists died of sickness themselves. This was because their healing gift works for others but does not work for themselves. If they want to be healed, the healing evangelist has to exercise their own faith for their own healing because their healing gift does not work for themselves but was given to them to help others.
This same principle can also be applied to a businessman (king) who is gifted to win spoils of war in the form of huge profits from the business world. This gift was given to the businessman not for his own benefit just so he can enjoy a life of luxury. This gift was given so that he could win huge spoils for financing the kingdom of God!
Hell is the Place of Worldly Rich Men
Isaiah 53:9 (NKJV)
9 And they made His grave with the wicked– But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Hell is actually referred to as the place of the (worldly) rich man. This is because worldly rich men were never saved and never used their gift of making money for God’s kingdom. A worldly rich man never does projects that are beneficial for the kingdom of God but only supports things that glorify himself and his own ego. Only righteous rich men like Job and Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob and Hezekiah and David go to heaven. These were righteous rich men who did not make an idol out of money nor did they grow arrogant but they used wealth to fulfill God’s purposes on earth.
See the link “Distinguish Worldly Rich Men” for more details.
It should also be noted that if a businessman gives to their own foundation, they have not really given to God at all because the money has never left their own control. It is like transferring the money from the right hand to the left hand and saying they gave it to the Lord. As long as they are still in control of it then they have not given anything to God and will not receive any eternal rewards in heaven from this type of deceptive giving.
God does care about where they give and if they give to any fraud ministry, they will reap a curse. They can only give to those whom an Apostle or Prophet has endorsed by the operation of Discerning of spirits to show that the one endorsed indeed has a Fivefold Ministry Gift or is worthy of their financial support. Only social projects endorsed and administered by an Apostle are worthy of their support because all giving outside of God’s ordained channels will bring a curse to the businessman instead of a blessing.
Authority of Apostle
Acts 4:34-35 (NIV)
34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Again, it should be noted that giving within the church fell under the Apostle’s administration. When the people brought their donations and laid them at the Apostle’s feet this speaks of Apostles having authority over these finances for administration.
Psalm 8:6 (NIV)
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
This thing about having everything under his feet speaks of authority and dominion so this also relates to laying the donations at the feet of the Apostles who were given authority over finances in the church.
It is the Apostles who have Discerning of spirits to distinguish laymen ministry intruders from real Fivefold Ministry Gifts. The Apostles operate with Word of Knowledge to know who is a freeloader and who it is who qualifies for help as a real widow or orphan. Apostles operating by “Spiritual Gifts” will put an end to all financial fraud in the Church!
Therefore, when a businessman assumes that they can do whatever they want with their money and run their own social projects they will typically come to ruination and just waste their money on cursed projects trying to bless cursed people. But if they give under the authority of an Apostle (who has the operation of Spiritual Gifts) then all financial abuse and fraud will cease and their donations will go to help godly people who are sincere and honest. Helping the right people (who are holy) will bring a blessing to the businessman giver rather than a curse for doing his own thing by supporting cursed people whom God has cursed.
When everything is done under God’s divine protocol there will be blessing for everyone involved. But when businessmen assume to be a god to themselves and do what they please with their money it typically will produce only a curse and nothing good comes from it.
God speaks to the Apostle about financial matters in the church and this includes social projects. If such projects are done under authority of the Apostle, he can straighten out heart issues of the people before they receive natural blessings. If they do not want to change or repent then the blessing can be withheld and the businessman be spared reaping a curse by giving to cursed unrepentant people.
God has a plan and operates according to divine order for everything he does. God speaks through ordained channels which include the Apostles and Prophets placed over matters related to the church (including social projects).