PARTNERSHIP- GOD’S WAY OF GETTING THINGS DONE

PARTNERSHIP– GOD’S WAY OF GETTING THINGS DONE

Dearly beloved,

I am strong on partnership as a way of furthering God’s purposes on earth.

I believe the Lord gave me a revelation on this subject, particularly as it affects non-church based ministries.

God wants us to function out of a place of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom so that we can be intentional about our actions. The work of the Lord must be done by men, and it must be resourced by men, through the means the Lord has given.

There are two areas where the Lord is working, and these are in the local Church and outside the local Church.

Pastors primarily work in the local Church, providing care for the flock. Apostles, Prophets, travelling Teachers and Evangelists usually work through the local Church, reaching the unreached or equipping the local Church in ways the Pastoral ministry is not designed or equipped to do.

The work of the local Church is supported by partnerships from within the local Church, and the work of the other ministries is sustained by partnerships through the universal Church.

Jesus, for example, was not a beneficiary of the priestly allocations as directed by the law; instead, he was supported by the Individual gifts of the people.

Luke 8:1

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance

The Prophets of the Old Testament also fell into this category. They had no allocation from the resources that supported the priestly class, but they needed to be provided for.

Jesus said, he that gives a cup of water to a Prophet because he is a Prophet, shall receive the Prophet’s reward.

There is a blessing in supporting your local church, and every faithful believer should, but this is different.

Ministries like Apostles, Prophets and Evangelists etc are special purpose ministries.

When you support such ministries, it must be because you identify with the purposes that they have been sent to fulfill and the One who sent them.

Jesus said, ‘if you receive the one I have sent, you receive me, and if you receive me, you have received the One who sent me.’

True Partnership is built around purpose and not just personalities.

There is the story of the great woman of Shunnem, who offered food and shelter to the Prophet Elisha. Why did she do it? 2 Kings 4: 8-10

She said, I perceive that this is a holy man of God,  that’s all. Partnership begins with identification with the Lord and his purposes. Whatever comes out of any other reason is corrupt.

We know what rewards came out of that relationship.

Many times, people concentrate too much on the reward of partnership without a full appreciation of its purpose.

A key element of true partnership is to love God and to desire to see His will done on the earth. The person who functions from here will be a useful partner with the Lord.

The Roman Centurion

The Roman Centurion was a man who loved God and subsequently loved God’s people and went on to build a synagogue for them. Yet he was not a Jew. In His love for God, he became a supporter of God’s work and a partner with the Lord.

How do we know all this? Because this was the argument that the Jews put forward in asking Jesus to heal the servant of the Centurion when he desperately needed the help of Jesus.

What was happening here was that the reward of his partnership with God’s people was about to be delivered to him.

Look at Hebrews 6:10

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Some things cannot be delivered to you cheaply, except through this way.

Your partnership with the Lord may be your lifeline!

When Mary, Martha and Lazarus fellowshipped with Jesus, offering food, and shelter, it was partnership with him and God.

They did it out of love, not for the sake of reward, but heaven had it on their account, but a day came when they would need to place a demand on that relationship, and Mary and Martha did.

The raising of Lazarus was the reward of Partnership.

Not every partner may ever be in the place where this may be needed, but even outside of temporal reward, the eternal rewards are sufficient enough.

People ‘give or support’ God’s work for different reasons,  and not every reason is honorable to God and thus it is not rewarded by the Lord.

But what is done out of love and a desire to further God’s kingdom or to bless God’s people is of great value and joy to the Lord.

Men may not recognize it or think of it as anything, but the Lord greatly cherishes it.

If you are a partner with the Lord in giving, praying, and standing with his servants in any way, have confidence in the relationship. You are not just ‘giving’ , you are working through a relationship that reaches all the way to Father God.

The Lord values his partners!

You cannot hold up the hands of the Lord, and yours drop to the ground.

The Lord opened my eyes to this in a wonderful way.

Sister HD

There was a sister, whom we will call HD, after her initials, who was a friend and supporter of our ministry in the early days.

This sister often supported us through her music ministry; she would join us and minister in song and would refuse the little honorarium we offered, because she would say, ‘I am doing it for God’.

One particular day, I got to the office and was told that her husband had been carjacked as he was driving out of the house that morning.

My first reaction was to ask the person who told me ‘Have u prayed?’

I went into my office and I began to talk to the Lord about it, I said ‘Lord, did you hear what happened? You know how she has been helping me to do what you said i should do, without collecting anything. Please cause the car to be returned.

The Lord told me clearly that the car would be returned that day.

To cut a long story short, the car was found abandoned in another part of the state and was returned to them that same day.

Sis HD never knew a day like that would come, but she was positioned right.

Loving the Lord and pursuing his purposes will never be unrewarded in this life and the next.

We often quote the Apostle Paul, saying, ‘My God will supply all your needs in accordance with his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, ‘ but we do not realize that this promise did not apply to all believers.

Paul was speaking to the believers who supported his ministry in giving and receiving. They were His partners and therefore partners of Jesus and the Father through him.

He was invoking on them the partner’s reward!

The same invocation I make for you today.

You shall never be stranded.

The Lord will show up in your life in expected and unexpected ways.

You will receive timely interventions and divine deliverance.

For your sake, your seed will find mercy and grace and will be delivered out of any pit that they may have fallen into.

It shall be supernatural deliverance all the way.

Heaven’s storehouse is open to you! Take what you ask for in Jesus’ Name.

Increase,  enlarge, and expand in Jesus’ Name.

Thank you for your partnership through this ministry. Together, we will do more for the Lord and receive the temporal and eternal rewards for it.

Blessings

Apostle Tonye Oliver