20-20 Vision and Ministry Success

Praise the Lord, everybody. Pastor Raymond Woodward from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a real honor to be able to share this seminar time with you. Sister Flo Shaw, our beloved leader — and a very effective leader — of World Network of Prayer, she contacted me some time ago about this particular topic, and I'm always amazed at Sister Shaw's seminar titles. This one is "20/20 Vision and Ministry Success." Now, I always feel like I never measure up to her titles, by the way. I think 2020 has kind of fallen by the boards a little bit because of COVID-19, and yet if there ever was a time we need to be successful in the way we minister to people, it is now.

With that in mind, I want to take you to a subject that has become very, very close to my heart. During the last several weeks of COVID-19 restrictions and all of that, we did a short series in our church family about the tabernacle, and we called it "House of Prayer," and I want to share a particular thought to help you with ministry today. There are only two chapters about creation in the Bible, but there are 42 chapters about the tabernacle and its plan. And the reason is that the tabernacle demonstrates God's original pattern for relationship, and it foreshadows everything else in the Word of God that is to come.

Now, we often teach it in Bible studies that there's a vertical beam of a cross — the cross is in the tabernacle. And the vertical beam of the cross is the brazen altar, the brazen laver, and then at the far end of the tabernacle, in the holy of holies, the ark of the covenant. And we teach that those three pieces of furniture not only represent the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, but they correspond to our obedience to the gospel: when we die to ourselves, our old life, in repentance; and we are buried in water in baptism — what a beautiful experience; and then we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. And so the vertical beam of that cross, that lays on the tabernacle so beautifully, is the plan of salvation.

But there's a horizontal beam, and it cuts right through what we call the holy place. And those three pieces of furniture, they represent God's plan of sanctification — and we'll touch base on these in just a few moments. But in particular, they are: the golden candlestick — as Jesus was the light of the world, we are called to be His light in the world, and of course that represents our witness. The altar of incense — incense burned on that — it represents not only Jesus being our heavenly High Priest, but us going to intercession in prayer for others. And then finally the table of showbread in the holy place; of course the element there that is recognized is bread, and Jesus was the bread of life, and we are also called to be students and lovers, and those that obey, His word. And so we'll come back to that in just a moment.

A lot of people teach the vertical beam of that cross — that the tabernacle is a picture of salvation. Others teach the horizontal beam of that cross — that the tabernacle provides a picture of sanctification. Of course we know in our studies of the Old Testament that the tabernacle is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus. But a lot of people miss this, and this is something that was new to me in my study this year: the tabernacle is not only a picture of Jesus; it's not only a picture of salvation or a pattern for prayer; it's actually a picture of you. In the New Testament, believers are called a tabernacle, and they're also called repeatedly a temple. Like Paul said in First Corinthians chapter 3, he said: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."

So just like the tabernacle was divided into three sections, you are a three-part being. Ordinary Israelites could enter into the outer courtyard to bring their sacrifices; they could come into the courtyard. But only the priesthood could enter into the holy place, and then only the high priest of Israel could enter into the holy of holies. In the very same way that two-thirds of the tabernacle plan was never seen by an ordinary Israelite, two-thirds of you as an individual is invisible to the rest of us. We only see the outside of you — the outer courtyard, the physical part of you. You are a three-part being: you are physical, but you're also psychological, and you're also spiritual. Your physical man gives you world consciousness — you can touch and feel and interact with everything around you. Your psychological man gives you self-consciousness and awareness of others as well. And your spiritual man — that is the only part of you that can give you God consciousness. So it's an amazing parallel to the tabernacle.

Now here's what's even more incredible to me: that between the outer court and the holy place there were five pillars that held up the curtain — five pillars between the outer courtyard, that everyone could see, and that next place, the holy place. In the very same way, you have five senses that connect your physical man to your psychological man: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. Those five senses connect your outer world, that we all can see, to your self-consciousness, to your psychological man.

And then it gets even more incredible, because if you go to the other side of the holy place, there were four pillars this time that held up the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies. And in the same way, you have four faculties that connect your psychological man to your spiritual man. There are four faculties built into you, hardwired into you by God, that connect your psychological man to your spiritual man: your intellect, your emotions, your conscience, and your will. And those four pillars are the gateway between your psychological man and your spiritual man.

Now inside the holy of holies, of course, there was a supernatural pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night, that rested on the tabernacle. But it didn't just rest on the tabernacle; it rested over the holy of holies. And it just didn't rest over the holy of holies; it specifically rested over the ark of the covenant. Only the high priest could enter that place because it contained God's presence. And in the very same way — leaders and ministers, pastors, teachers, saints of God — your spiritual life is lived out in a secret place that only you and God have access to.

There was no way — this is what's so important — there was no way to get from the outer courtyard into the holy of holies without going through the holy place. And here's my point for us as leaders, as saints of God, as ministers: there is no way to get from this physical realm to the spiritual realm without going through the psychological realm. God has a plan for every part of your being. It's like Paul said to the Thessalonians; he said: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." And so this is amazing: Paul said, I'm praying that the eternal part of you, the individual part of you, and the physical part of you — that they all be preserved blameless. So to put it in clear biblical terms before we move further: you are body, soul — or mind — and spirit. Body, soul, spirit. In the Greek language we would say soma, psyche, and pneuma.

Your body lives every day in this physical world, but at the same time you're also trying to have a spirit relationship with God. But here's our challenge: you cannot directly access your spirit in any natural way. Brothers and sisters, that is the biggest challenge in living the Christian life, especially for new converts, but for all of us. Paul said this in First Corinthians chapter 2; he said: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." You see, you can only get to your spirit by going through your soul. But the problem with your soul, or your mind, is it can be handicapped by the pillars that surround it on both sides. On the physical side there's the five senses that can tempt you, and then on the mental side are the four faculties — your intellect, emotions, will and conscience — that can trouble you. And so that becomes your battleground: your mind, or your soul, is the battleground of the spiritual life.

And this is exactly why unsaved people act the way they do: there's no life in their spirit, in the eternal part of them, because when Adam fell, that spirit that was supposed to house the Spirit of God became a literal death chamber. And so their soul, their mind, is left in control; and in that soul, their intellect and emotions and conscience and will, because they're tarnished by sin, literally stand guard to prevent spiritual activity. Only when they surrender to God does that change. But the struggle continues far past salvation; it continues throughout our entire life.

Look at what Paul said, Romans 8: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." If we wrote that as an equation, it would look like this: carnally minded equals death, but spiritually minded equals life and peace. Obviously, if we're going to succeed in ministry — if we're going to successfully minister to others and help lead our churches — we have to operate not through carnal thinking, but we have to have a spiritual mind. Jesus said it this way in John 4: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

There is no true life, there is no true revelation, without the Spirit of God dwelling in your spirit. But since your spirit cannot be touched with the five senses, and since it cannot be discovered through your four faculties in your mind, you have to use something else every day to connect with God's purpose, God's will, God's thoughts, God's revelation. You have to go through God's word, which is the owner's manual for the human heart.

Now James said it this way: "If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass." He looks in a mirror, but he beholds himself, and then he goes his way and he forgets what manner of man he was. So if you just look into the mirror of culture, if you just look into the mirror of other people's leadership and activities, if you just look into the mirror of good leadership books, if you just look into the mirror of business culture — you can have some information, but you're looking into a faulty mirror as a leader. But I'm glad to tell you today that there is another mirror. And if we're going to lead a spiritual enterprise like the church, and if we're going to be spiritual men and women who lead, we have to have a different mirror. And here's what James said: "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work — this man shall be blessed in his deed."

Now, if I asked you to look into your own face right now, you couldn't do it. Oh yeah, you can look at your phone, you can reverse your camera, you can look into a mirror or a reflective surface — but physically it is impossible. God did not create you to be able to physically look into your own face; it's physically impossible. So you have to look at your reflection in a mirror that you trust — preferably not one of those funny-house mirrors at some kind of circus; you look at a true reflection. In the same way, just like you can't look into your physical face — you're not constructed that way — God constructed you so you cannot look directly into your own spirit; it's impossible. So the only way to even have any kind of reflection of what's going on in your spirit, you have to look at your reflection in the mirror of God's word. One of the biggest decisions you will ever make as a Christian is choosing which mirror you're going to look at and trust. But can I amplify that? The greatest decision you will ever make as a leader is choosing what mirror you're going to look into and trust. Because that mirror of God's word will tell you how to deal with conflict and people; it will tell you how to deal with ego and pride and motives. It's an amazing mirror.

Second Corinthians chapter 5 — Paul said this: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Well, that's a wonderful scripture. But some people would say, well, if I'm a new creature, and if all things are become new, then where in the world are the results? Because becoming a new creature certainly didn't affect my body. I had cellulite before I became a Christian; I've still got cellulite. I had thinning hair before I became a Christian; I've still got it. So if it didn't happen to my body — and by the way, I still struggle with some of my same fears and qualms and anxieties, so it didn't happen in my mind either — so where in the world did I become a new creature? The great news is: you became a new creature in your spirit. You are a new creature right now, in your spirit. That new life has to work its way out of your spirit, through your soul, into the physical realm.

So again: your mind, every day as a leader, as a Christian — your mind is the battleground. What you have to do is, you have to get your soul, your mind, in agreement with your spirit every day. Your spirit must flow through your soul to get to your body, the physical realm. It's like your mind or your soul has a valve on it, and you alone turn that valve to allow the flow to go either way. Every day as a leader, either your relationship with God will affect your soul and flow out through your body to the physical realm, or your body, your five senses, will affect your soul, your mind, and then affect your spirit. Your mind is the battleground. This is what Paul's talking about in Romans 12: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." You want to please God out here in the physical realm — the realm of leading, the realm of ministry, the realm of the church, the realm of involvement? How in the world do you get this physical realm to conform to God's will? Well, the battle is in your mind. Watch what he says: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." The struggle is in your mind.

So in conclusion today: how do I renew my mind, Pastor Raymond? Well, the answer is: you do it in the holy place. There are three pieces of furniture in the holy place; they are a picture of our sanctification. Salvation is your new birth process, but sanctification is your spiritual growth process. And in that area of the tabernacle there were three pieces of furniture. First, there was a golden candlestick. Jesus was the light of the world; we're called to be His light in the world. But we can't do it in our own ability. Do you know what fuel was used to light the golden candlestick? It was pure olive oil — a symbol of the Holy Ghost and the anointing of God. Like John said: "You have an unction from the Holy One." So every day you've got to get yourself in worship — not in a church service; you've got to get yourself in private worship — to let that oil flow, that oil of the anointing.

And then there was a second piece of furniture in that place: it was the altar of incense. Jesus was our great intercessor; we are called to speak not only to people on behalf of God, but we are called as intercessors to speak to God on behalf of people. And the psalmist said: "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." Every day I'm going to bring my prayer to God. Prayer can go anywhere God can go; prayer can do anything God can do. Three times in the book of Revelation prayer is that incense swirling around the throne of God. It's our responsibility as leaders to cultivate a daily life of worship and a daily life of prayer.

And one final thing — because there's one final piece of furniture: there was a table of showbread in that holy place. Jesus was the bread of life; we need His word to survive. There was always to be bread on this table. Prayer is you talking to God, but the Bible is God talking to you. Leaders, it's time to renew our love and our commitment and our time in the Word of God every day. We need answers desperately during this strange time, but the Word of God has them. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 4 and 12 that that word is so quick and it's powerful; it's sharper than any two-edged sword. But watch this: it can pierce even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. You need that word, because you don't need to just try to figure this all out with your mind; you need that word — that mirror — to let you know what the Spirit of God is saying every day.

So it's a pretty simple lesson, but I promise you the effects are long-reaching and far-reaching. Every day you need to get yourself in that holy place. You need to spend time in worship so that the oil of the Holy Ghost flows in you. You need to spend time in prayer — not only for your own needs, but on behalf of others that you are leading. And you need to cultivate that daily relationship with the Word of God — not to preach, not to teach, but to live. That is how we have success in ministry: by winning the battle every day in the holy place. God bless you. I hope this has been a benefit to you. What an honor it has been to teach you today.