Building The Spiritual House

Recently, we’ve been talking about prayer, more specifically praying with all manner of prayer. Last week, we spent some more time looking at the fact that we must pray out the plan of God for our lives.

We know that the general plan for all of God’s children—whether it be for our individual lives or for ministry—is found in the written Word of God. However, even regarding His plan in the written Word, we’ll often process that plan through our natural mind or our own thinking if we approach the Word without prayer. As a result, we can miss what He is telling us in the Word entirely.

So, we are to seek God in His Word and in prayer until we find His plan and then follow and build according to that plan, so that we can experience the full anointing and blessings God has in mind for our lives and ministries.

God’s Plan for Church Services

I want to look more at how we, as pastors and leaders of ministries today, are to renew our minds to the Word concerning God’s plan for our church services and move according to God’s plan--not man’s.

Often, the reason we don’t see more of the blessing of God on our church services—meaning a greater move of God’s Spirit among us--is because we are too often following our own plans in our services.

If you're in a place of leadership over a ministry, God will tell you exactly what He wants done in that ministry or in a church service. He is not going to bypass the leader. But, as ministry leaders, we’re going to have to get acquainted with the Word and with the Holy Ghost so that we’ll know what He’s doing! Otherwise, we’re going to be left out.

Let me say it again: God can’t fully bless our plans. His full blessing and the full measure of His anointing can only come upon His plans.

Building the Spiritual House

But, what is God’s plan as it relates to our church services? We know it is to teach and preach the Word, but some have been limited in their thinking in this area because they haven’t studied the Word more prayerfully with an open mind.

Someone once asked Dad Hagin what God was doing today and he said, “He’s building strong local churches and teaching them to flow with the Holy Ghost.” That’s saying the same thing as Ephesians 2:19-22.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD; AND ARE BUILT upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the BUILDING fitly framed together groweth unto an HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord: In whom YE ALSO ARE BUILDED TOGETHER FOR AN HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT.

We read this in I Peter 2:5:

Ye also, as lively stones, ARE BUILT UP A SPIRITUAL HOUSE, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

We know that individually, we as believers, are the house of God. But, Ephesians 2:19-22 and I Peter 2:5 talk about something more. When we come together corporately, we are each a lively stone that is to unite with others in the body of Christ and form a corporate house that God can fill with His glory corporately! Hallelujah! That’s God’s plan for our services, and we are to follow that plan--not our own.

The corporate anointing is the glory of God. And, the glory is where fullness is! I mean, the fullness of everything we’re believing for--including the move of the Spirit.

Jesus said He would build His church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). That’s what God is doing today, and He’s looking for men who will build according to His plan.

Unity: Your Part

All of His people should seek to know what their part is in the plan of God today. But, every revelation of God's plan that He gives to a man individually is going to contribute to the grand overall plan that God has in the earth to build a corporate house for God’s glory.

Regardless of our place in this corporate house, one part we are all to play in getting this spiritual house built is to be in unity with other believers around God’s plan for when we come together.

Some ministers have separated themselves and gotten out of unity with those who have continued moving with God’s Spirit and are selfishly walking in their own way, refusing to fellowship with others. As a result, a spiritual deadness has overtaken them.

In Acts it is written that when they were in one accord in one place, suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. And, so it is today—when ministers get into one accord with those who are moving with God’s Spirit according to God’s plan, the glory will return in their services in a mighty way.

God’s purpose for building up this corporate spiritual house is to form a place God’s Spirit can inhabit and manifest Himself among us in our services.

Don’t Struggle, Find God’s Plan

Some people’s lives or ministries just seem to continuously struggle. Often, the reason is either because they don’t know what God’s plan is or, they haven’t agreed with Him concerning His plan. Rather, they have gone about to establish their own plans, even for the services they conduct when believers come together.

We said last week that God is always on the move in the earth--building something. Now we can see what He’s building. In our services, He wants to build a spiritual house. Men are also always building something—whether it be man's plan or God's plan. Wise men move with God rather than go about to build their own plans without God’s direction or help (Matthew 7:24-25).

Ministers have to renew their minds to God’s plans for their services in order to experience His full blessings. Also, God wants us, as ministers, to build unity of purpose among His people around HIS plan. Specifically, that when we come together, we form a spiritual house that God can fill with His glory. He wants the Spirit to be allowed to move and manifest Himself in our services in such a way that the people's needs are met, and God’s purposes are fulfilled.

Many have gotten away from this part of God's plan in the church today. Because ministers are following their own plans, Satan has robbed many of our church services of the move of the Spirit. The Lord is not in the house men are building—He’s not filling their plans with His glory.

God Can’t Fill What Hasn’t Been Built

Every house God ever had on the earth, He filled it with His glory. Why? Because that’s His plan. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle and the temple were His house. And, He filled them both with His glory. So much so that, at times, the ministers couldn’t even stand to minister because the glory got so strong.

In the New Testament, He’s not building a physical house, but a spiritual one. Jesus is building His church which is made up of people. They individually and corporately are His house—a spiritual house, not a natural one.

Although we see throughout the Bible that God filled every house He ever had on the earth with His glory, it’s important that we see and understand that He NEVER filled His house with His glory until the house got built (see II Chronicles 5:1,13-14; Exodus 40:33-35).

What are we saying? The reason we haven’t seen more of the glory of God in our services is because we haven’t followed God’s plan for our services so often and gotten the spiritual, corporate house built.

Are You Building Something Natural or Spiritual?

Although what God is building requires some natural things to be put in place, ultimately what He’s actually building is something spiritual and eternal—a spiritual house.

Concerning ministry, many visible accomplishments that men may consider a sign of success may not be success at all in the eyes of God. Big buildings, a lot of people or a lot of stuff in the natural may not mean the Lord is in what a man is building at all. Concerning the abundance of natural things, the bigger things a man has may only mean that when the fire falls, his pile of ashes will be bigger than yours (I Corinthians 3:11-15).

That’s not always what that means of course. In the Bible, there were times God placed great importance on certain things being built in the natural realm. These things are often necessary to carry out God’s plan. And, I’ve found that the devil opposes churches and ministries having these things in abundance in his effort to hinder the ministry. So, we don’t want to get over in a ditch being all negative and critical against all natural success. People who are always critical of the natural abundance that churches or ministries have are usually covering for their own unbelief in the area of prosperity.

However, with that said, we do want to remember that natural things are only tools to accommodate what God is building in the Spirit. And, we want to be busy building God’s plan--not just man’s plans.

Assembled, Not Just Gathered!

As much as we know God wants to reach multitudes of people (and will), sometimes ministers compromise and go about to gather crowds by carnal methods. They neglect building the people’s spiritual lives—the leaders of these churches are not feeding them the Word of God that develops their spirits.

Also, a church full of big crowds doesn’t actually mean that congregation is fulfilling God’s plan for them coming together each service. What do I mean? We saw in Ephesians 2:19-22 that God’s plan for the church coming together is to form a spiritual house where God can move among them by His Spirit. Sometimes believers today are in one place physically but not in one accord spiritually around what God really wants to do among them by His Spirit (Acts 2:1).

In the book of Acts, we see the early church uniting in Spirit and forming a spiritual house in such a way that great signs and wonders were manifested among them. They were not only in one place, they were “assembled” referring to being in unity (Acts 4:31).

Many ministers are not preparing God’s people to unite around His plan for their services in this area. Some do teach the Word along certain lines, and we ARE to teach and preach God’s Word. But, what I’m sharing with you is the Word too! Also, we’re not to just teach and then close the service without looking to see how the Spirit wants to manifest Himself or confirm the Word that was preached.

A Voice from the Past

On February 18th, 2003, the anointing came on Brother Hagin at Winter Bible Seminar, and he said some things by the Spirit of prophecy that we, as ministers in particular, should remember. For the sake of space, I don’t want to include the entire prophecy here, but in part, the Spirit said:

“We pride ourselves in being a Word church and Word people, and right and good, for it is true, saith the Lord, you are a Word people. But, do not forget that you are also a Holy Ghost people. Spiritual. Yes, the Word goes forth, but again and again, the Spirit has endeavored to move in your midst, and you have ignored Him. And, you’ve kept quiet. Some have yielded temporarily to the Spirit. For the Spirit seeketh to manifest Himself.

…And, the Holy Spirit has spoken unto a number of ministers here tonight. And, He's spoken to you in times past. He's told you exactly what to do. You have not done it yet!  And, you wonder why He withholds certain things. You wonder why it's tough, or the way seems rough. Go ahead, listen to what the Holy Ghost is saying.

Make your church not only a Word church, but a Holy Ghost church. Put the Word first always. Move in the Holy Ghost in line with the Word. And the glory shall be made manifest. The glory shall even be seen by many. And the blessings of the Lord will flow like a mighty river. Thank You, Lord Jesus.”

Let’s follow God’s plan for our church services and allow God’s Spirit to move as He wills to meet the needs of the people. If we’ll do so, God will be glorified, and we’ll experience the fullness of His blessings in our lives, ministries and church services.