Prophetic Connection

Posted on Sep 28, 2016 in Apostolic Prophetic Church |

1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order .

If we could understand the crucial role of leadership within a service or corporate setting, then we would understand and see God’s heart more often within our corporate settings. A leader’s role within a service is not just waiting for their appointed assignment for that meeting. Every corporate gathering has many elements within it, worship, prayer, offerings, announcements, etc. depending on what type of meeting it is. I don’t want to address the elements of a service but the leadership of a corporate service or gathering, which we will call spiritual flow.

Without oversight, a service may or may not reach the fulfillment of God’s heart. The primary goal of oversight is to make sure the service completes what is on God’s heart. It is not about finding the will of God, since the word “will” means what is finished and no longer needed. So what we are really looking for is not so much the will of God, that is what we realize after a service is complete. What we really are looking for is the heart of God concerning His people during a service. This requires a leader to do more than just occupy until their appointed time in a meeting. They need to hear the Spirit of God as the service unfolds making sure that things are done decently and in order.

Done

= to arise, to appear, to come into existence, to be made,

to be performed, to appearing in public

Decently

= respectable, graceful, influential,

Order

= an arrangement, a fixed succession observing a fixed time

This verse of scripture as looked at in the context of the overall chapter of conducting Spirit led services concludes with the above verse. We look at this mostly from a human perspective of how we would naturally make sure things are done decently and in human order. We make sure all the elements are in place and spend much time on perfecting what is natural and spending little focus on what is truly spiritual. It is why our worship team practices the songs in the natural so when in a service, they can flow in the spiritual realm.

As we look at the word ‘done’ it is more than completing a job. In all honesty, that seems to be the focus of most services we have in the church. It is another event of the week to get over with or get completed. The word ‘done’ from the definition above looks like something new has just happened or occurred. It seems something has come into existence that was not there before. That is a reflection of the creative power of God at work. Looking at the word meanings more deeply, we find the word ‘done’ in Greek,

gínomai,

which means ‘to be born’. It is directly related to the word ‘Genesis’ which means birth. WOW! It is talking about the same creative power that caused the earth to come into existence is how creative a service is to flow!

As we look at the word ‘decently’, we see it is talking about the outcome if things are ‘done’ right. In other words, it is about fruit that is supposed to be produced. Some of the actions we see in recent moves of God do not fit this. God is in the business of creating fruit that remains. That is on the same level of Him creating the earth and is still in existence today, so is the fruit of what happens in a service to remain eternal! That fruit is to be influential; it is to be a reflection on both God’s creativity and God’s nature!

We see the definition of the word ‘order’ above and how we can reason we do this in a service. We have people in place to usher; we have a time for announcements, etc. When we start digging deeper into the meaning of the word ‘order’, we see the source of the fruit. The word ‘order’ as it is used in scripture is not so much about a chain of events as it is “

the nature one comes from that sets the arrangement

.” In other words it is the nature of God that determines the flow of a service, to produce His eternal results! God’s order always makes respectable, graceful, influential fruit. A service should reflect God’s creativity and God’s nature, producing Godly eternal fruit.

Many times I preach first and deal with things in people’s lives to prepare them for worship. Why do we wait until after worship to deal with people’s needs at the end of a service when we know the needs are there? It is the last thing people remember, “I got this dealt with…. Maybe?” Why not deal with issues up front so a person can enjoy the service and connect with God, going further and leaving with “some ground behind them since their need was met”. This would allow them to be more solid at the end of a service. Sometimes I preach during the worship time. You see it is not about just preparing a message but also hearing the timing of that message or prophecy, or ministry time, etc. It is both working with the Spirit in gifts moving and timing of gifts so the Holy Spirit establishes a spiritual flow or order. We are partnering with Him as He deals with people’s lives, he also knows the exact moment things need to be said or ‘done’. After all, we claim we have heard God in what message we have to deliver, we need to go to the next level and also hear the timing of that message or messages that might occur.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry , ye are God’s building .

The Spirit has a flow and that is the primary concern during a service of every leader. Without spiritual flow and understanding of it, we will only have hit and miss services. Sometimes needs will be met and at other times they will not. A leader is anointed to do just that – lead! Leading is not just in elder meetings or making sure all the things in a service go smoothly. Nor is it about presenting vision. It is more than all of these things. One of the greatest things any leader can do is to hear the Spirit of God in a corporate setting and lead people into God’s desire for that particular moment of that service.

1 Corinthians 12:31

³¹ But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way .

We know the chapter on gifts and we always seem to strive to move in them. The question is what is the “best gift”? Most of us answer; it’s in the next chapter, it’s “love”. But the reality is that the best gift is the gift that meets the current need. That means each service should have different gifts moving in it unique to that service because needs are different than last time, unless they have not been met. The gifts of the Spirit move based on the needs that are present. Different services have different needs. This understanding shows us the uniqueness we are to be experiencing in each service and how a leader must learn what truly “the best gift” is and not just make assumptions or move with what is familiar. By doing this, we will accomplish the verse of things being “done, decently and in order”.

This is also true of the Word of God. It comes to meet with people. As different people come into services, the Word of God is to meet with them. This might even mean a leader has to adjust his message or even timing during a service so the needs can be met. What has caused most of our corporate settings to be lifeless is that we have not given fully to the Spirit leading us and we remain in set patterns. We might even get concerned that if we really let the Spirit move we might not have a place for the offering!

Hearing the Spirit requires a leader to do more than “zone in” during worship but to also stop every so often and ask God about the flow. It also requires that leader to possibly make slight adjustments as things unfold. It is like steering the rudder of the ship. The leader is not only possibly the main overseer of the overall ministry but also is overseer of the spiritual events as well. Most approach this in an ‘afterward’ perspective of analysis instead of really taking the leadership role during a meeting. Evaluating a service afterward allows us to understand the things that transpired in comparison to what we know were to occur. We can then see the adjustments needed what needs to shift, etc. to be better prepared to “lead” the service. But the ultimate goal is to hear God during the service, and lead as He directs. These times become some of the most dynamic times we have experienced as a ministry. It is abandoning your plan for His. After all, what God wants to create is only done as His power flows by His Spirit. The more we yield the greater the result. The more we yield the greater we truly see His heart.

Most leaders wait as part of the congregation during worship for the worship team to “get done” so they can get up. I am up with the worship team standing off to the side. The worship team is leading that portion of the service, but I am still the overall leader of the service and by positioning myself differently physically, it has positioned myself differently spiritually. I can see the congregation as a whole. I can interact with the worship teams as well. I also can monitor prophetic words as they come during worship and help make sure we are on track. As a leader, you would be shocked to see the faces and activities of people during worship. By sitting on the front row with your back to them, you never really know whether they connected or not in worship. This type of leading also requires you to listen more intentionally to God. Be aware that to make this choice of truly being led by the Spirit, there will be an added grace and the outcome is so much greater.

It is now time that leaders step forward and not lead out of their own understanding, but truly be led by God’s Spirit in all things. This will bring not only life but the creativity of God into our midst and allow new life to flow. When these things start occurring, people’s expectation levels go high and the draw on God’s Spirit and anointing also increases. It is truly time we become led by God’s Spirit in all things!

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God .