The Alarm of War was first published in the year 2001 as paper print in Lagos Nigeria when we started the Revival School of Ministry. On September 30th, 2018, the Lord instructed us to restart the publication. We pray that through it, you will hear His Voice and heed His call.
This edition
focuses on how to build for God something that will pass the test of God's eternal fire! What must a man of God or a woman of God do that will make both S/he and the labor of Christian Ministry receive God's sign of approval. The kind of work that even hell recognizes and trembles. Not the kind that that Nadab and Abihu built or the type that the Sceva brothers undertook in Acts chapter 19. I pray that God will grant you a revelation of how to build for eternity.
BUILDING ACCORDING TO GOD’S PATTERN - by Rev. Ayo Abraham
It is only normal that a man should have a good understanding of the job he is doing in order for him to make a success of it. Regardless of the fact that a man graduated from studying a particular course in the university, most employers of labor will still provide induction and initial training for him at the point of entry into the job and continuous on-the-job training subsequently. You know why? Because although he has all those theories in his head or even some experience from a previous employment, all that can never guarantee his service in the right perspective with his new employer. He needs to receive an understanding of the particular requirements and methods or procedures that are applicable in his present environment.
It is most likely that all he has been taught or experienced will in reality not suffice for the present job. He therefore needs to come to grasp with the idea underlying the present job requirement.
In John 4:22, the Lord Jesus gave a divine comment on all the obviously well intended, pious religious ceremonies of the Samaritans.
“Ye (Samaritans) worship ye know not what...” (KVJ)
A few other Bible translations render it this way:
“But you Samaritans know so little about him, worshipping blindly ..............” (TLB)
“You worship what you do not comprehend...” (AMPLF.)
“Nowadays you are worshipping with your eyes shut ..........” (J.B. Phillips)
Theological training, administrative and intellectual prowess as good as they are cannot in themselves make a man successful in Christian ministry. Beyond theology and the best of worldly wisdom, every man in Christian ministry needs to comprehend or receive from HE who is ordained to take of the things that belongs to Christ and reveal them to the Church (John 16:14), an understanding of God’s own Idea of what Christian Ministry really is and how HE has ordained that it should be done. Otherwise, we will be ministering blindly, with eyes shut!
Each time God commissions a work, HE normally calls the leaders HE has appointed aside and gave them an “Open Eye” into His own Heavenly Blueprint for the work. God never assumes that we know how to labor for Him correctly. That is why in spite of all our worldly wisdom and spiritual experiences of the past, God will always say “COME UNTO THE MOUNT AND LET ME SHOW YOU”.
“And he said unto Moses, come up unto the LORD, thou and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and Seventy of the Elders of Israel, and worship
Ye afar off ........ And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua; and Moses went up into the mount of God ... And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ... Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the patter of the Tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so Shall ye make it”
Exodus 24:1, 13; 25:1,8,9 (KJV)
If you will please read the entire twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth chapters of the book of Exodus, you will see how the Elders of Israel agreed to view God’s glory from afar but when Moses was drawing nigh into God’s presence, Joshua, the servant of Moses who was not invited at all found his way with Moses to the Mount. Don’t ever get satisfied from what you saw afar off. The insight you obtain from worldly wisdom and theology into doing God’s work is at best “AFAR-OFF REVELATION”.
Aaron saw God’s glory from afar off, but in the place of Ministry made idol for God’s people to worship. Nadab and Abihu saw the fire of God’s presence from AFAR. When you observe fire from afar, you cannot distinguish between the flames. It is only when you stand closely to fire that you can begin to observe that one flame is yellow, one is blue, one is red or that one is green. Because they have only seen the eternal things of God’s presence from afar, when they went to the place of ministry, the young men thinking that fire is the same went and kindled what the heavens termed “STRANGE FIRE” and they perished for it.
Several things - inventions and gimmicks that are being employed today in the work of ministry, are they not strange to the heavens? But for the longsuffering of God many ministers would have also perished like Nadab and Abihu for kindling “Strange Fire” before God. What you see afar off no matter how glorious or wonderful can never make your service correct before God. You can see from afar and still perish! And God said to Moses: “Come up to me into the mount, and be there...” (Exodus 24: 12)
The other brethren were at the foot of the mount-afar off. But they still saw the sight of the glory of the LORD, only that to them it looks like devouring fire whereas to Moses who was on the mount, the presence of God was a cloud. After forty days and they did not see Moses, they concluded that the fire of God’s presence must have devoured him. They said, “We know not what has become of Moses, make us gods which will go before us” (Exodus 32:1).
Aaron, because he has only seen and behold eternal things from afar thought that Moses has entered into a devouring fire, he thus consented and became the leader and champion of idol worship in the place of ministry.
The prerequisite instruction for any man who will serve God acceptably in Christian ministry, even life is: “Don’t stand afar off”.
God is saying to us, “Come up to the mount and I will show you my pattern” Refuse to leave yourself behind. If you do, you will die spiritually, your ministry will become obsolete, and you may not live long because you will be kindling strange fire. And as God could not tolerate Nadab and Abihu offering strange fire, so God would arise to wipe off ministers who are offering strange fire on the altar, Even Aaron, if not for Moses’ intercession, Aaron would have gone for it.
No matter the big and lofty ideas you have accumulated about ministry, come to the mount and receive God’s own pattern. But only on the mount.
... “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount”. (Exodus 25:40)
Day by day, pray yourself up the mount where God will begin to give you an open eye unto His own patters. Don’t be too heady, don’t over know, but settle before God and say, ‘Lord, for so, so work that you’ve called me, here I am, show me what to do’.
TO BE CONTINUED