During the Pearl Revival Conference of four consecutive days, our steering committee members and branch church pastors openly shared their life stories –from brokenness to restoration and from specks of sand to shining pearls. These moved me deeply and I gave great thanks to Father God for His Love and Grace over us.
In the past, their lives and personal relationships had been stolen, killed and destroyed by the enemy just as what C-Mo saw in her dream last year. Through this Pearl Conference, God shows the churches how to get back the lost pearls and reshape man’s life, families and churches.
Many people focus on ministry and not man’s life, even willing to sacrifice others for ministry or their wives for church as they believe that expanding ministry can bring forth church growth. This is a dead end because when we disregard others, we cannot form a team as it is against God’s Will and we are unable to receive blessing from above.
“So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)
One may mistake building a five-fold gift church for setting up a five-fold ministry. However, five-fold gift means not the functions but the gifting and those who are endowed with such gifts, man is our sole focus! The most important responsibility of an apostle is to perfect the saints by finding those with the other four gifts, nurturing and building them up and hence turning them into pearls. The pearls of the churches are stolen because man pursues only ministry and ignores others. Church must fixate on shaping and molding man’s life instead of impoverishing ministry.
How can we perfect the saints and build up one’s life?
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2)
“Cut off” means “promote” and “raise up”. For any branch that bears no fruit, we should raise it up first; then cut off the bad and keep the good so that it can bear fruit. We are not to “raise up” and “prune” by our own strength. Instead, we are to connect with our authorities, the Holy Spirit and Father God. Together we build up the saints for works of service and the body of Christ so that the Church will be glorified.
Dear brothers and sisters, we have to become a life-giving church. Let us get connected with our authorities and our God to build up all believers, reclaiming the precious pearls for God.•[2017.06.25]
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