The Ministers And The Ministry of The New Covenant: Making Spiritual Progress, #2

By Zacharias Tanee Fomum

This book is a revolutionary cure!

In its preface, author Z.T. Fomum says these are messages taught at a time when the church was registering an increasing number of young ministers.

Since the ministry depends on the quality of ministers who are available to the Lord, it was a question of presenting to the young ministers, in the light of the Scriptures, ways and means for the foundation of a glorious ministry, by

• equally glorious ministers,
• radically separated from self and sin, and
• totally surrendered or given to the Lord.

This is the purpose for which this book is published. It is an outline of the fundamental principles for ministry in perfect holiness and from a position of renunciation - a revolutionary cure!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books4revival
• Release date: Oct 1, 1988
• ISBN: 9781386749837

Zacharias Tanee Fomum

For FREE books from Zacharias Tanee Fomum: https://books.bookfunnel.com/ztf-free-ebooks. Professor Zacharias Tanee FOMUM was a man of uncommon spirituality, a leading voice for revival, a workaholic, a prophet-teacher, and a world-shaping spiritual genius. He was a bestselling Christian author (with over 350 books, over 10 million copies in circulation in over 100 languages) and a professor of Organic Chemistry (with over 160 published scientific works of high distinction (earning him the award of a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Durham, Great Britain). His books and the millions of people he influenced in more than 40 years of Christian ministry continue to impact the world with the Gospel today. He founded Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI), a missionary movement that has planted churches in more than 120 nations on all continents. He believed in a life of simplicity and with the support and dedication of his wife and their seven children, his all—time, money, heart, and soul— was dedicated to spreading the Gospel. He carried out exploits for God through the making of disciples for Christ, planting of churches, building spiritual leaders according to the model of the Bible, and serving the body of Christ, especially as a teacher on prayer. Learn more and read exclusive excerpts at: https://ztfomum.org

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PREFACE

This book, The Ministers And The Ministry of The New Covenant is the fifth in the series Making Spiritual Progress. The Books in the series are:

God, A Man, and Men

Spiritual Relationships

Spiritual Responsibilities

Vision, Burden, Action

The Ministers And The Ministry of The New Covenant

The Cross In The Life And Ministry Of The Believer

Knowing The God Of Unparalleled Goodness

Brokenness: The Secret Of Spiritual Overflow

The Secret Of Spiritual Rest

Making Spiritual Progress, Volume 1

Making Spiritual Progress, Volume 2

Making Spiritual Progress, Volume 3

Making Spiritual Progress, Volume 4

Moving on With The Lord Jesus Christ

The Narrow Way (Volume 1)

The messages in this book, were given to brethren from all over Cameroon in Yaoundé at a critical point in the work. There was a real increase in numbers of those who were turning away from their sins and becoming new creatures in Christ. Many young people were beginning to receive ministry gifts and to minister in the churches. There was a need for a fresh look at the ministry and the ministers as revealed in the New Covenant.

It was obvious then and remains obvious that the ministry depends on the type of ministers that are available to the Lord. There must be a radical separation from self and sin and a radical surrender to the Lord Jesus before anyone can honestly begin any ministry to the Lord and His body.

The extent to which the minister dies to himself is the extent to which life will be produced in others. Those who hold themselves back also hold themselves back from the ministry of life.

May the Lord reach out to you as you read the book, and may you be brought into fresh union with Him.

1st February, 1988.

Zacharias Tanee Fomum,

P.O.Box 6090,

Yaoundé - Cameroun.

1

A VICTORIOUS MINISTRY

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord; but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word; but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all men; and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 2:12-3:3).

DIFFICULT TIMES WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

The apostle Paul wrote,

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord; but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13).

In order to better understand what happened, we shall turn to the Acts of the apostles for the full story. It is recorded in Acts 16:6-15. The Bible says,

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia. And when they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing beseeching him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days; and on the sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul. And when she was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us (Acts 16:6-15).

PAUL’S COMMITMENT

From the day when Saul of Tarsus bowed to the Lord Jesus and made Him the Lord and Saviour of his life, he committed himself without reserve to the one task that the Lord had given him. That task was summed up in the following words:

I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared to you for this very purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me" (Acts 26:15-18).

So Paul understood that the Lord had sent him to the Jews and Gentiles to open their eyes so that they might turn to the Lord Jesus. That then was his life’s goal - Jews and Gentiles must be brought into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

With that goal in mind, he abandoned every other goal and kept himself at that and was compelled by that goal. He said,

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians both to the wise and to the foolish (Romans:14).

He said to himself, I owe all Jews and all Gentiles the gospel. It is a debt that I owe people and that must be paid.

He further said to himself, Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.

He went on to say,

I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. To the Jews I became a Jew, in order to win the Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the law - though not being myself under the law - that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law - not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ - that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some(I Corinthians 9:19-22).

With this in mind, Paul went everywhere where there was an opening, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and leading people to Him. He asked one question constantly, Where can I find men without Christ whom I can bring to Him now? With that one supreme purpose, he worked out a strategy and set out to carry the Gospel to every Jew and Gentile.

THE SPIRIT OF JESUS: DIRECTOR OF ALL OF GOD’S MISSIONARY PROGRAMMES

Although Paul was totally committed to the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all men at any cost, Paul was not the Holy Spirit. He had his carefully thought-out and well-prayed-through evangelistic and church-planting programme, but he was not the Sovereign Boss. The Holy Spirit is the Director of God’s Missionary programmes. He has the overall missionary strategy of God. He appoints men co-workers with Him in this programme. He determines the spheres and the timing of their services and will not allow those who love the Lord Jesus supremely to move ahead of Him or to lag behind. He holds all things and all men in control, so that God’s work is done God’s way and in God’s time.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PAUL’S WAY

Paul, according to his strategy, came to Troas to preach the Gospel. However, he could not. He packed and went somewhere else. What happened? Look at the following map.

Right on to Antioch, they were in the centre of God’s will. They were where God wanted them to be, and when He wanted them to be there. From then on, the Holy Spirit, the Director, had His clear plans and timing. There were places which were totally outside His assignment to Paul and his team. There were other places which were within His assignment to Paul and his team, but which He had for a future date and not for the present.

Paul, on the other hand, felt that he was a debtor to all men, and that as one who owed all men the gospel, he could go anywhere at any time. So he moved from Antioch.

His first move was towards the region of Phrygia, but the Holy Spirit of Jesus said No. His next move was towards Galatia, but the Spirit of Jesus said, No. So the way was blocked to his left and to his right. The whole of Asia was being blocked for that moment.

They came opposite Mysia and attempted to go into Bithynia, but were again blocked. They pushed to Troas. He was not forbidden to go into Troas, but that was not where God wanted him to be then. Did he stop and ask the Lord where next he should go or was he just moved by the overriding passion to bring men to the Lord Jesus? We do not know. God allowed him to get to Troas. In Troas, the Lord used two things to guide His servant: the absence of a co-worker and the vision of the Macedonian.

1. THE ABSENCE OF A CO-WORKER.

Everything seemed fine in Troas. The Holy Spirit had blocked their going to other places, but for Troas, there was no blockage. The door was open. It was possibly in the permissive will of the Lord. Paul was ready to preach the Gospel of Christ to these people who had never heard it. However, he did not find his brother and co-worker Titus, there. That was bad. He could not continue there any more. His mind was not at peace. He was not in the centre of God’s will and the Umpire was blowing the whistle saying, It is not time to be here. You are in the wrong place.

The Lord was using circumstantial evidence to guide His servant. He was using the matter of commitment, not only to God but also to each other, to guide His servant. These two had made a commitment to the Lord. They had also made a commitment to each other to serve together. So when Paul did not find Titus there, he just knew he could not continue. God was not in need. He could have said, I am the apostle. He is just my helper. I can go on without him. I must not act as if I cannot stand alone. Am I not able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me? Why must I betray marks of inadequacy? He did not say, What will the others think of me? What will unbelievers think of me and the Gospel? I must save the face of the Lord before those who have not yet believed. He did not say and act this way.

Each one of us must come to the point where he finds someone in the Lord that is absolutely indispensable to him. Someone to whom he is loyal 100% and whom he will not disobey in anything. Those who think they can do it alone will fail and fail hopelessly.

There was a similar bond between Elijah and Elisha. Elijah said to Elisha:

Tarry here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel. But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel(2 Kings 2:2).

This was insisted on twice and the persistent Elisha received a double portion of the Holy Spirit that rested on the great Elijah.

With whom have you entered into such a relationship? It needs to be experienced and there must be a verbal commitment to it and to each other. Spiritual authority is not only the capacity to commit oneself to God and to walk close to Him, important and indispensable as this is. Spiritual maturity also includes the capacity to commit oneself to those to whom God has committed Himself and to walk close to them. I leave this point to each one of you for prayerful consideration. I am very persuaded that this is one lack in the ministry that has greatly limited what would have been outstanding ministries.

2. THE VISION OF THE MACEDONIAN.

Paul, surrendered absolutely to the Lord and burning to proclaim the Gospel to all men at any cost, found himself in a fix. He did not know which way to go next. He could not stay in Troas. God did not want him there. Many doors had been closed before him. He had not committed any sin. He was not consciously disobedient. The Lord loved and trusted him. The Lord had a clear plan for him, and knew clearly where he ought to go next, but he did not know it. He tried this and that and then came to the end of himself.

My dear Brother and Sister, is that the case with you? You have not sinned. You love the Lord with all your heart. You are doing all that you can for Him. You are holding nothing back. Your conscience is clear before Him, but you are confused. Things are not going. You are not having difficulties with the devil. You are having difficulties with the Holy Spirit. You want to know what to do next. Beloved one, you are not alone. You are not abnormal. Even foremost servants of the Lord like Paul had such experiences. He must have prayed. He must have sought all the counsel he could, but things remained foggy.

The Lord moved in. Yes, God’s servant came to the end of himself about knowing God’s will, and God did not allow him to be stranded for long. He sent him