Another Coffee
Break:
Practical
Discipleship,
Part 2: Impartation
Part 2: Impartation
Good Morning,
Good Morning, Good Morning!
Rich and DeAngela
Warren have been a part of our fellowship and our ministry for nearly seven
years. Last weekend, their son, Seth,
got married in a setting that I think most couples would envy. DeAngela's dad, Leroy Blankenship (I've
talked about him on numerous occasions during the past years), officiated at
the wedding. We might as well have been
in the Garden of Eden. The beauty of the
waterfall in the background and surrounded by lush greenery provided a
spectacular and perfect setting.
Leroy was his
usual poetic self as he described the first union between Adam and Eve, and at
the conclusion of the ceremony, he sang an original love song to both
bridegroom and bride. All I can say is,
WOW!!!
When
I wrapped up the last Coffee Break I'd thought to move on to another topic, but
the Holy Spirit reminded me that I'd missed sharing one of the most important
aspects of discipling: the imparting of the anointing, the transfer of the
mantle that God has laid upon the one who is mentoring, teaching, sharing and
discipling.
Let's
begin again today with the command Jesus has given: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB)
There
is so much wrapped up in Jesus' command that it is almost hard to know where to
begin. He starts off by saying that all
authority -- make sure you get this -- ALL AUTHORITY in Heaven and on earth has
been given to Him. I don't mean to be
redundant but "ALL" literally means that there is no part of the
authority or dominion in any realm, earthly, natural, spiritual, emotional,
mental, of the heavenly realm or dimension, AND the realm of the demonic over
which Jesus lacks the final say. What's
more, He has not just the authority, but the power to back up that authority.
He
follows up that preface to His command by saying, "Go ye
therefore!" In other words,
"Because I have all authority, I'm commissioning and empowering you to go
forth on my behalf as my personal representative; and you have the full backing
of Heaven to do everything I've commanded you."
"Everything
I've commanded you" takes in a lot of territory, folks!
Remember
when Jesus sent the 70 out, two by two, and told them to "heal
the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons"? Then Jesus said to them,
"freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
Take
a quick look at Mark 16:15-18: And He said to them, “Go into all the world
and preach, declare and proclaim the gospel, the good news of the Kingdom, to
all of creation. (see also Matthew
24:14) He who actively believes
[and puts into action My Word] and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who
has disbelieved [and opposed mentally, emotionally and spiritually] shall be
condemned. These signs will accompany
those who actively believe and put into action: in My name [in the very
character and makeup, the essence of who I AM] they will cast out demons, they
will speak with new tongues; they will take on wily, deceitful men whose
purpose is to sway and deter them through clever arguments [and defeat them],
and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands
on the sick, and they will recover and be completely restored.” (My translation and amplification)
[A
quick note before we continue: The phrase which occurs at the beginning of
verse 18 -- "They shall take up serpents" -- is a common Hebrew
metaphor, and it means to take on those people who try to deceive or sway
through clever arguments or manipulation.
The particular phraseology which occurs here makes very clear that Jesus
is giving those who believe the authority, the power, the wisdom AND the
anointing to combat and defeat such arguments and/or manipulation.]
Both
Matthew and Mark use the expanded reference to "the Gospel" by
clarifying it this way on four separate occasions: "the Gospel of the
Kingdom." You see, the Gospel is
not simply some good news of salvation through Jesus Christ; it is the news
that we have access to and available citizenship in a Kingdom -- a sphere and a
dimension of living -- which is superior to, and has authority over, all the
kingdoms of this natural world.
Thus,
when Jesus begins His covenant promise to "those who believe," He
instructs us to preach, declare and proclaim the good news -- the angelic
tidings -- of His Kingdom to all of
creation! That's more than just
preaching to people, folks! That's the
exercise of Kingdom authority over all that is this earthly realm. That includes the ground we walk on. That includes the trees, the plants, the
vegetation -- the agricultural realm, if you please. That includes the animal kingdom, birds,
marine life, bugs, etc. That includes
the weather.
Get
it? ALL
OF CREATION!
We
are instructed to preach, proclaim, declare, prophesy, decree -- to enact by
the release of the spoken Word -- the Kingdom of God in, upon and throughout
all the earth! That doesn't mean we get
to say anything that pops into our heads.
This only works when we speak that rhema -- that same Word
we first heard from Holy Spirit -- which is coming (present tense -- not past
tense) out of the mouth of God!
One
cannot receive that rhema unless one has his or her ears attuned to hear what Holy
Spirit is saying. And......one cannot
even hear in the realm of the Spirit unless they spend time in that realm. When you spend time with the Lord, there is a
change that takes place in you, your nature, your character, the way you
behave, the way you think.
Notice
what happened when Peter and John began to do the works that Jesus did. "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter
and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they
marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13)
When
Jesus sent forth His disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the
lepers, cast out demons and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, there was an
impartation that went with the disciples.
What do I mean by this?
There
was a transfer that took place in the Spirit realm. When Jesus sent them forth, He commissioned
them. With that commissioning came an
anointing. With that anointing came an
empowering. With the empowering came a
mantle, a covering, a transfer of divine authority and power to accomplish what
they had been commissioned to perform.
Let
me use some personal experience for the sake of illustration.
Without
retracing a lot of ground that I've already discussed in prior posts, I grew up
with angels. They were my early
companions. I saw them on an almost
daily basis for three years. When Jesus
appeared at my bedside early one morning and began to lay out His plan and
purpose for my life, there was a shift from that moment forward in my
life. The angelic realm was mere
preparation. It laid a foundation of
"normalcy" for the realm we generically refer to as
"supernatural." It paved the
way for me to think "naturally supernatural, and supernaturally
natural."
From
the moment that Jesus first appeared at my bedside and began to lay out His
purposes and His destiny in and for my life, a transition began to take place
in the way that I thought, in the things I expected, and in my perception of
unfolding events. Two years later, when
I experienced my first trip to Heaven, communication in the Spirit had become
second nature. Hmmmmm.....let me
rephrase that! Communication in and
through Holy Spirit had become the norm.
It was perfectly natural. From
that day to this -- more than 60 years later -- it has been the way I live and
breathe. I wouldn't know how to live any
other way!
Though
that experience at age nine was only the first time I had the opportunity to
visibly walk and talk with the Lord side-by-side, from that day to this we have
walked together continually -- whether I've been able to visibly see Him there
or not. And that, my friends, changes a
person's outlook on everything! There is
an intertwining of personality that takes place when you walk together. There is a transfer of character and makeup
that happens. This is absolutely
essential and intrinsic to discipleship.
The more I have lived and walked with and in Christ Jesus, the more I
have taken on His character and nature.
(Oh, and by the way, He's not finished with me yet. There is still more change to take
place! [Smile!])
One
of the most practical aspects of discipleship and discipling is that one must
first be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
One must always remain in a place of submission to Holy Spirit. One must not only listen but respond. The first and most basic tenet of
discipleship is -- as Francis of Assisi used to put it -- "to hear and
obey." It is absolutely impossible
for me to lead someone into a way of living and walking in Christ Jesus that I
have not first lived and walked. I can't
promote a theory and hope it actually works for someone.
One
of the reasons why we have seen such a watering down of the Gospel throughout
the years is that being "in Christ" and having "Christ in
us" has become a religious philosophy -- a theory, if you will -- lacking
in reality and practical living.
Christianity is anything but a religion.
It is not a theory. It is a
lifestyle with naturally supernatural implications. There is a dynamic to it that is absolutely foreign
to the societies of this world.
Jesus
Christ was and is God incarnate! In the
flesh! In the here and now! Without the transfer of character and
personality, without the impartation of the divine nature and makeup of who and
what Jesus is, made visible and operational and functional on a daily basis in
us, anything we have to say becomes "sounding brass and tinkling
cymbals" devoid of Kingdom life and reality!
As
first, disciples of Jesus Christ, and then disciplers for Him of others also
desiring to walk the Kingdom life, we impose the light and the sound of Heaven
whenever and wherever we go. It is
impossible to do otherwise. Our very
presence brings change wherever we are.
Our very presence impacts the environment. At least, it had better do so! Otherwise we're a bunch of frauds who live a
religious lifestyle without the reality of intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Roughly
29 years ago, Della went to work in the jewelry business, beginning as an
assistant manager for a family-owned jewelry store in Anchorage. The main store manager had been brought into
the store to run it based on the recommendation of others in the business. This person -- a lady -- led a very worldly
lifestyle and was totally devoid of any sensitivities to Jesus Christ. It didn't take long for the very presence of
the Lord in Della to become threatening to this woman despite the fact that
Della was very quiet and non-confrontational.
She became more and more uncomfortable with Della's presence in the
store.
Della
and I began to pray for this lady. The
more we prayed the more nervous and uncomfortable she became, to the point that
she began making accusations about Della to the family that owned the store. One of the owner's daughters was sent into
the store to work with Della just to assess the situation. This young lady responded enthusiastically to
the presence of the Lord in Della and a bond of friendship formed -- one that
would last for years to follow. The
existing store manager was shortly thereafter moved out of that store to
another location. The owner's daughter
stayed on to groom Della to manage outright one of their stores, and it wasn't
long before Della was given a different store to run on her own.
In
the years that followed the blessing and the presence of the Lord went with
her. When she transitioned over to work
with and manage for Zales Jewelers, the company's corporate managers saw and
recognized the anointing of the Lord.
The regional managers began to use her as a trouble-shooter to ferret
out corruption and thievery among their stores.
Everywhere she went, dishonest and lazy employees were exposed and
removed who were negatively affecting the store's performance and image in the
community. Everywhere she went, she
brought profitability and honor, in several instances setting sales records for
those locations.
Beyond
that, Della became a mentor and a "discipler" in an economic sense
training and creating management teams for the company. But her "discipling" ran far beyond
the material and business world. It
became a joy and a pleasure to lead some of those employees into a committed
walk with the Lord Jesus Christ and to mentor them spiritually.
I've
shared all that just to illustrate the fact that when there is true integrity
in your walk with the Lord and a continual pursuit of His presence and the
excellence of His character, you cannot help but influence and change the
spiritual climate in which you live and operate daily. The authority of the Lord goes with you and
the blessing of the Lord manifests in your labors and your work ethic.
As
disciples of Jesus Christ and then Kingdom representatives, we are both
ambassadors AND part of Heaven's royalty.
As such we have been given both authority and the responsibility of
bringing the earth back under subjection to Heaven. We DON'T rule over people! We DO rule, however, over the spiritual realm
-- and with it, and in the process thereof, take dominion over thrones and
principalities and rulers of the darkness of this world in the realm of the
spirit.
THAT,
all by itself, brings change in people and influences natural events, spiritual
events, political events and economic events around us! It is our responsibility as active believers
to put into action the Word of the Lord in the earth and to enforce the peace
of God in our societies.
The
apostle Paul put it like this: "I exhort therefore, that, first of
all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be
made for all men; For kings,
and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and
to come unto the knowledge of the truth."
We
cannot force men and women against their will to come to the knowledge of
salvation, and we cannot force people to lead a disciplined life in Christ
Jesus. We can, however, fulfill our
responsibilities as Kingdom representatives to bring about the change in our
society -- change which must first begin in the realm of the Spirit. We first implement that change through prayer
and intercession. After that, depending
on the rhema of Holy Spirit, we begin to declare and decree.
We
are first spirit beings. We are
secondly, soul, and thirdly, body -- in that order. If we desire to bring about the necessary
change to our societies, it must begin first as disciples of the Lord Jesus
Christ, living under submission and subjection to Holy Spirit, and then -- as He
so orchestrates -- discipling those around us in order to implement Kingdom
change in the earth.
Are
you hearing this? Great! See you next week (I hope!)
"If we are just in the flock of the Lord's companions, the veils will remain and we will only obliquely be able to see His glory and be changed by it. This is why my goal in ministry has never been to make people my personal disciples but to help everyone I can to become a personal disciple of Christ Jesus Himself.
As we also can note from John 10, it is His sheep who know His voice, not His lambs. While we are young in the Lord, we will have to follow others until we learn to know His voice, but my hope is to have my own veils removed and those of all I can help along their way. We must see Him in order to be changed into His image, not just become the image of one of His friends.
What would any man think if his children all looked like his
best friend? We need to consider what we're doing when we're leaders who are
trying to get people to conform to us rather than to Him. Our lives can and
should be good examples for others, but as the Apostle Paul stated, he was in
labor until Christ was formed in His people. This is our goal." (Prophetic Word from Rick Joyner)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
709 South 7th StreetCAPENER MINISTRIES
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
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