Sep 28, 2022
Show Notes: When we think of Paul, who was a tremendous apostle of God, who in the strength of his ministry accomplished so many great things, and whose amazing experiences and writings compose most of the New Testament, we see him as fulfilling the commission of God by himself. We forget the assistance he had from others and how necessary it was that many were helping him. Paul, however, knew how necessary they were and was always mentioning them in his letters.
It is important for us to understand how the early Church functioned, how they worked together and worked with the apostolic ministries. They saw themselves as fellow workers laboring together in the vision and revelation with the apostles. Their deeply committed relationships were the strength of the New Testament and how the churches were built. In that day there were those who were working against the ministry, who were being a negative force and influence trying to bring destruction to the churches and take away from what Paul was doing. We experience these same things today.
More than ever the Church needs to get away from the one-man show—individuals working in isolation—and come into the relationships that formed the Church we read of in the New Testament. This is my vision for Hargrave Ministries. Please pray with us, as our ministry to Israel and the Body of Christ continues to grow, that God will bring those who will be friends and fellow workers with us. If you have a burden for this work, please feel free to contact us and join with us in this ministry that is bearing fruit and being a blessing to many people.
Key Verses:
- Romans 16:1-24. “… my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:5-9. “For we are God’s fellow workers.”
- Philippians 4:1-3. “… and the rest of my fellow workers.”
- Philippians 2:25. “I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker.”
- 3 John 1-15. “Support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”
Quotes:
- “Paul was always in a process of informing the churches of those who were helping him and those who were one with him.”
- “God is raising up a company of friends and fellow workers.”
- “There's no greater feeling than being one who is working with the Lord to fulfill the Word of God that we see in the Scriptures.”
Takeaways:
- We regard Paul as an individual who accomplished great things in God. But Paul’s letters provide a list of many people who worked together with him, with whom he had deep relationships, and without whom his ministry could not have been accomplished.
- Paul and the other apostles were not functioning as single ministries like we see today. They were companies of people moving together to accomplish the anointing and the commission that God had given them.
- I am longing to see God raise up within and around Hargrave Ministries those who are friends and fellow workers together, and that we all feel that what God is doing is the fruit and the accomplishment of each and every one of us, not just of myself or one or two other individuals.