Romans 11:29 (KJV 1900) — 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

The question many people have is what do I have to offer? We think we need to have developed to some grand place of spiritual power and knowledge before we actually have something to give to others of value. Yet we have the Holy Spirit and Jesus present with us all the time. We actually are never in lack of resources to draw from.

All of us are called to be conformed to the image of the son. This calling is a reflection of Christ living in and through us. We have a mission to the world to display this wonderment of Christ in us the hope of glory. We have been graced for this display and empowered to show forth His glory working in our lives. This is the highest calling and most important. Now for some they will be given assignments and task that seem small and insignificant, but God uses them to form us and see how we steward opportunities given. For others they will be given specific functions in the body that come with a lot of responsibility. To whom much is given much is required.

So, we all are carrying calling. Many are called but few chosen. The choosing is the hand picking of God for a specific task. We have confused calling and chosen. We all have been invited to produce what has been given for us to carry. But many believe unless they have been recognized, titled and positioned they are not able to produce. The fruitfulness of what you carry is seen by those you influence in thinking and actions. How you release your passions and how they affect things others value.

What you’re also carrying is your giftings. Gifting is natural and spiritual. They are deposits of potential or enablement to do something supernaturally by Gods empowerment. Gifts come not for us, but again to serve the body of Christ. They come to empower us for acts of service and not for us to feel good about ourselves. That will come because we see lives changed and know we had a part to play in it.

Giftings are always given to help fulfill the ultimate call with your life. Giftings will actually point to your call and will give you a hint of what your calling might really look like. If you know your calling likewise you can then see what giftings it may require as well.

Both calling and gifting activated is what opens opportunities for you to be asked to do certain ministry assignments or roles. Your ministry is how you serve others in your calling and gifting. Calling and gifting both require obedience. Your obedience is what creates the ministry you will have. Ministry is the expression of both calling and gifting. It becomes the fruit of what both combined will produce.

 Ministry is when you have been chosen. It is the divine enablement of God. Many may be called to do ministry yet never seem to get there. The reason is the gifts and calling are without repentance. What does that mean? God has determined a set way to be chosen. It is by activation of what we carry, specifically calling and gifting. Repentance means not so much sorrow but a change of mind, metanoia. God is not changing his mind how he has determines a set order of roles and responsibilities. But we need to determine to change our mind! You see repentance, changing of the mind is directly connected to calling and gifting. We have to decide to reflect and serve. We have to decide to activate and do. We have decided to be obedient. Because we know what we’re carrying.  

When you know what you’re carrying you are no longer striving. You relax into what is inside of you and operate from it. You work your faith towards perfecting it. And like Peter you can come to rest, even in a prison cell, know that the circumstance is not the end, because what I’m carrying will get me out of the situation.

When I was in the hospital in Sept of 2018 it did not look good. I was losing weight. My entire colon was infected. It looked like I was dying, and I probably was. Thousands of people were praying but I kept getting worse. God then spoke clearly to me and said, “Stop having them pray for you but pray for the message inside you that your carry will live. Your temporal but the message is eternal.” I told people to pray for the message inside me to live knowing I would have to live because I was carrying it. 3 days later I left the hospital. A valuable lesson indeed. But that’s also the power residing inside of us that we are carrying.

What is the difference between apostolic grace and fathering grace? We seem to have a lot of people overlapping of what is fathering grace and apostolic grace. Apostolic grace is a grace to an apostle to help ministry leaders be effective towards the Body of Christ, but fathering grace is more towards an individual. Apostolic grace comes to reorder, realign and redefine. Fathering grace comes to form and mature. So, the foundations of both are very different. Apostolic grace is a foundation based on doctrine. Fathering grace is a foundation based on love, acceptance and trust. Apostolic is visionary, for a larger picture for ministry, and the fathering grace is visionary for the individual.

Many times, we see that apostles are also fathers. But not all fathers are apostles. It’s two distinct different types of grace. Sometimes those two things overlap in an individual’s life. We need to understand which grace is actually working. Everybody needs both in their lives but for different reasons.  You’re drawing from a different Grace for different outcomes. Sometimes one is more dominate in your life and other times you need both to impart into your life.

Spiritual fathering has a divine connection that aligns you to a spiritual father. There’s a grace for connecting to that father. There’s a grace of how your hearts would be connected. The alignment you have with an apostle is around your assignment and mission in the earth. Your specific assignment needs that apostle’s insight. So, the difference is apostolic grace deals with ministry and its issues while fathering grace deals with living life out together and doing life together. One is equipping you to do ministry, and the other is equipping you to do life.

Apostles are very transparent about their life and ministry, where spiritual father is transparent about what is going on in their heart decisions. They both will impact a life giving flow, it is just coming from a different source with a differnet expectation of result. Both will champion your call, giftings and your abilities. But a spiritual father is going to champion your heart.

It is the role of the son our daughter to pursue the spiritual father and what that father has experienced.  The same with the Apostle, but the pursuit is drawn upon the grace and revelation of what the apostle is carrying. Spiritual Fathers create opportunities so spiritual sons and daughters can see what’s really setting inside of them. Apostles create assignments, to move the kingdom of God forward and pull those under them into that assignment.

Many times, these things may overlap because the assignment may also demand some changes in the heart, and the changes in the heart will also release you into assignment. So, everyone needs to determine who is your apostle, and who is your spiritual father. I’m an apostle too many right now probably 20 or 30 different ministries and people are looking at me as an apostle helping them and giving oversight into their ministries. But I also have about that many spiritual sons and daughters that I’m raising and causing to come into their fullness. It is a season for me of more sons and daughters coming towards me.  

I believe the early church looked at their sons and daughters and saw the grace gift of fivefold ministry upon them. And as they did, they decided this person has a calling or a grace gift into a certain function. Today, we have been training people basically backward. We’ve been training them in a school of ministry to teach them a grace gift, when a grace gift is actually something that’s occurring inside your heart. I believe the early church picked and chose fivefold ministry out of sons and daughters. This foundation of sonship meant discipline, obedience, loyalty, sacrifice, commitment, and long list of things was already in place that didn’t cause the problems we see today. It was a heart that had been formed not forming after coming into a five fold grace. From that point they further trained them to understand all of the fivefold graces. Notice I didn’t say trained them into a grace but to understanding those graces. They trusted the Holy Spirit to make them be who God wanted them to be.

Both the apostolic and fathering grace is present upon the earth. Both have certain outcomes. Both are needed. Let’s not get confused and make them the same thing. By doing so we step around the processes and demands both require. The process of Spiritual fathering produces the foundation of a prepared heart. The Process of an Apostle builds upon the heart and demands a response of action from the heart. The Fathering process is a time process while the Apostolic is an action process. The Spiritual father allows for growth to occur over time. Eternal values are formed. Decisions are not just spontaneous but well thought out and contemplated.

The apostolic now takes the authentic sure belief formed in a spiritual son or daughter and says time to activate you into the destiny your father saw in you. The apostle places things in the pathway of the person to find and encounter to finalize their value and worth in ministry. They bring people into destiny by discovery while the spiritual father raises them by assurance.

I will say this both graces are not a one, two, three, step type process, but more a spiritual artform of knowing each person individual life and who God says they are. Both are probably the greatest degree of empowering and working with the Holy Spirit in a process. Both have setbacks and pitfalls. But both are the highest degree of honor and value we can give to others, to believe in them how God does and to see them how God sees them in fullness.

I was up in the night contemplating the prayer life of the church and how much prayer is done daily on a global scale. The hours and numbers of those praying. The energy it represents and how much is happening and also how much for all the effort is not happening. I have just come out of a dynamic prayer meeting which had much heart felt repentance and open confession of lack and need for God to intervene. It was powerful. Why are some prayer meetings so strong and good and then others seem flat?

As I contemplated this in the night I reflected on the early church of Acts. They had both individual prayer and corporate prayer. They also prayed with different types of prayer based on the current moment and need. Theses are thanksgiving, supplication, faith, agreement, intercession, binding and losing, and imprecatory. I have written about these before in my blog post and in my book on imprecatory prayer. They knew which type of prayer was needed for each situation. It was not one fits all. That is the first reason some prayer meetings are good, and others aren’t. We are hitting and missing with our approaches.

I also reflected back to the single focuses of the church in Acts 2:42. To stay in the apostle’s doctrine, prayers (plural) fellowship and breaking of bread. The apostle’s doctrine was to implement the doctrines of Christ and bring forth the Kingdom. It is listed first as a target to hit, then prayers plural is listed as this is a tool to accomplish this. The fellowship or intimacy was with God and each other and able to happen because of the times of prayer.

I then was reminded how they prayed in Acts 4 they prayed for boldness and suddenly the place was shaken and instantly they received boldness. The response was directly tied to the prayer and the prayer was based on advancing the kingdom. They said the one thing they lacked to be effective and cried out in desperation for it. God answered and they were forever changed. The right prayer meeting does not give you relief but produces lasting change. What a powerful prayer meeting. It reminded me of the one we had just had. Our prayer was not about meeting our needs but about shifting us for service.

Jesus said don’t pray for what you need for your father in heaven knows before you ask. Matt 6:8. Then he gives the Lord’s prayer in the next verse. He gives the model for prayer with the emphasis on the Kingdom and the power and the Glory. It seems the personal prayer was for the examination of ourselves and the corporate prayer a defined intention.

In Acts 12 Peter is in prison and the church is praying without ceasing for his release. A specific focus of why the meeting has been called. It was a continuous meeting probably with people in shifts coming and going. The assignment was driving them and the vision of the outcome. When Peter knocks on the door their assignment is completed. The ramifications of this a new season of Spiritual history is about to unfold. The transition from Jerusalem to the world.

Again, in Acts 13 as they were ministering to the Lord the Holy spirit said, and Paul and Barnabas were chosen for an assignment. THEN they prayed before they were sent out. This prayer was for the corporate assignment that had just been spoken by the Holy spirit. It seems the meeting was not so much a prayer meeting seeking direction as it was a meeting of simply ministering to the Lord. The word ministered means to serve the state at your own cost, to do service, to discharge an office.

I have been in all night prayer meetings and after doing it a few times and seeing pillows and sleeping bags come in the door it kind of lost its purpose. In Africa they have asked me if I wanted to call prayer vigil or all-night prayer. I asked the host pastor why? It seemed he felt the anointing was needing empowered by prayer or needed to increase and prayer was the answer. I told the pastor these people are up early and are working all day. They are coming here in the evening and the meetings are running long. This is the third day with one more to go. Why would I put this on the people?

I know every move of God was birthed from prayer. I know nothing moves without prayer. I also know the very much needed times of prayer and have seen the changes that occurred. I’m just saying perhaps our model of prayer, the scheduled structures we have created, and our approaches need to have more of an intentionality about them to make them more of a special moment. I have done this with communion. I only do it when Holy Spirit prompts me to. This makes it hold greater value when we do share communion and takes away the religious pattern and traditions.

Perhaps we should not call prayer meetings on a schedule but schedule them when there is a real need. How many times do people ask,” Are you going to the prayer meeting tonight?” If there is not a sense of urgency in gathering to get answers then why is there a meeting. Are we caught in traditions?

So, what am I trying to say in all of this? I am seeing the direct correlation to not having prayer meetings to have prayer meetings, but they should always have a greater purpose and vision. Something beyond our own selves. They should reflect on the assignments and kingdom advances. They should be part of a flow. To me this is why prayer meetings seem to have low attendances, because these things are not seen. If you reflect on your prayer meetings the most successful were the ones with these elements or the dealing in hearts to be prepared for service. So like spiritual flow in a service, or flow in worship, maybe we need to have a spiritual flow in prayer meetings. Each one seen in the Bible produced an eternal result.

Easter, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection. Power of God upon the earth. Promise of God fulfilled. A kingdom birthed. Freedom in grace has come. Yet in the midst betrayal, rejection, and even those closes failed.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it. As I’m reading the account of history like so many, I want to point out some silent sufferings that all leaders go through and to bring hope to your labor of love. He speaks to the betrayal of Judas. Sitting amongst them with all the privilege yet to sell the greatest privilege for 30 pieces of silver. Can you imagine what Christ is thinking. This is what my life, my words, my messages and experiences are worth to this one. Yet he believed in him all the same.

He turns to Peter and says to him “When you’re fully converted” Matt 22:32 then strengthen your brethren. He saw a man still not convinced, still doubting still not full committed. Yet he saw a greatness within him yet to be seen. An assignment for his future given even unconverted! Imagine how he wished he could finish the process he started in both of these. To see the outworking all the investment and be satisfied he had done the work. Yet at times leaders have to say I have done all I can.

Then as he goes to the garden and in the greatest transition of heaven to earth, the moment of the secret of his life and ministry is being revealed, the disciples could not tarry an hour. As Jesus prayed in the in the garden for the cup to pass, sweating blood as he now begin the final process of being poured out, knowing he must fulfill his purpose upon the earth. The disciples could not overcome their flesh and sleep. The greatest moment Jesus needed them to be connected, yet he went the course by himself. Imagine even seeing the drops of blood yet not inquiring. I imagine Jesus like so many leaders asked the question to himself, when is it enough? I have poured myself out and it’s not good enough.

But what I see is Jesus could have seen failure. Failure of ministry. Failure to convey truth. Failure to grow leaders. But he was focused not on what was temporal, or his eyes saw. He was focused on what he had placed in the spiritual realm, what was eternal. Perhaps these men would eventually capture it, perhaps not. But it was placed in the spiritual realm and others would now have a chance to capture it. I learned a long time ago, what you say and do is not for who is in a room, but what you place in the spiritual realm so others can catch it.

As leaders we go through times of the cross and resurrection. At times we are at critical moments and those around us don’t understand the importance of a moment. I am telling you I understand. But my hope is not in people. It is in knowing and doing what is eternal. It is placing things in the spiritual realm for those who truly desire it. Just like the disciples were not convinced so many today are not as well. Jesus didn’t try to convince them, he made them think on the things he spoke with conviction. The power of resurrection is also the power of conviction and as Jesus moved in resurrection power. The early leaders found the same path also releasing the spirit of conviction to change mindset by metanoia, actions of the hearts, and the laying down of worldly pursuits for that which was eternal. Take heart leader. Move in resurrection power in your words and deeds. Stay focused on the eternal for the it all that will remain when all is said and done. Let God sort the ones who are to come along.