Identifying and engaging your
PLATFORM(S) FOR SPIRITUAL EXPLOIT
Many
believers are under-performing because they hold unto a mentality that
Christian service is “for the called” and “the ordained” not for everyone. They isolate themselves from responsibility
and satisfy their weakness and ignorance with the lies that unless you are
called, ordained and commissioned, you have no “right” to serve as a messenger
of the good news.
For
a long time now, my heart has been burdened about the fact that I am not even
utilizing my platforms effectively to proclaim the message of hope. And I
believe that having a clear understanding of what platforms stand for can help
us to better engage them for our greater good wherever we are.
What is a platform?
A
clearer understanding of what a platform stands for will help us to better appreciate
the driving force for this message.
·
A platform is a flat
raised part of the floor in a large room from which you make a speech.
·
A platform is an
opportunity to make your ideas or believe known publicly.
·
In the military art, a
Platform is an elevation of earth or a floor of wood or stone on which cannons
are mounted to fire on an enemy (American Dictionary of the English
Language)
·
In the electronic world,
a Platform is a hardware or software architecture that acts as a basic
structure upon which applications, processes, and technologies are developed
and run to enable business or work outcomes.
·
In the engineering world
today, we have what is called platform engineering which is an emerging
technology approach that can accelerate the delivery of applications and the
pace at which they produce business value. Platform engineering improves
developer experience and productivity by providing self-service capabilities
with automated infrastructure operations. This innovation is modernizing
enterprise software delivery and particularly digital transformation.
The Pulpit
Another
word for Platform is Pulpit. The origin of the word is the Latin pulpitum
(Platform or staging). Traditionally the pulpit is usually raised above the
surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accessed by steps, with sides
coming to about the waist height. It is normally from the pulpit that the word
is declared in front of the congregation.
In
order to achieve global spiritual revolution and transformation, God want us to
be able to identify platforms around us and utilize the same to declare the
good news. When you know the platform to use to declare the message that is
boiling in your heart is not only limited to the one, we find in the four
corners of the church, then I believe we would experience rapid transformation
in the manner with which we spread out the message of hope to our lost and
dying generation. A kind of a spiritual platform engineering is required in
order to facilitate the fulfilment of our mandate of the great commission.
What
I am talking about is supposed to be a spiritual cloud-based platform of sort.
That enables us from everywhere to be able to deploy content, engage in social
networking activities through seamless integration in organized environments,
marketplaces, one-one demand services, crowdsourcing platforms, social media
handles and all other unexpected places where you can find your pulpit.
“I charge you
in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the
dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be urgent
in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in
patience and in teaching. For the time is
coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they
will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and
will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. As
for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist,
fulfil your ministry” (2
Tim. 4:1-5RSV).
Spiritual Platform Shifts
The
purpose of this article is to address the overemphasis that has dominated
Christendom and limited our validity and coverage. It is the believe that the pulpit
is the only platform where Christians messages can be shared. Dean Briggs
opined that there have been six spiritual platform shifts in history namely:
1. The
move from the Tree of life to the Tree of Knowledge of God and evil
2. From
Universal to particular relationship after God scattered the nations, and
called a single man Abraham to follow Him.
3. God
added the Mosaic Covenant to Israel’s charter with Him.
4. The
radical shift from Old Covenant to New Covenant around 30 AD in the dead,
resurrection and birthing of the Body of Christ in Acts chapter two.
5. When
Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity’s relationship to the State with the
edict of Milan in 313 AD.
6. The
massive spiritual platform shift that took place during Martin Luther’s Protestant
Reformation.
7. The
seventh platform shift will be from “Church” to “ekklesia.”
In
all of these instances, history itself shifted. This last platform “ecclesia”
will not be focused on the Pastors or teachers,
but will be rather apostolic and prophetically driven, raising
and equipping powerful models to take new grounds and teaching others to do the
same. This platform will be shaped with innovation that are mobile, responsive
and adaptive in organization, style and communication. It will afford linkages,
networks with like-minded entities in the market places, parachurch ministries
and other local ecclesias promoting a shared vision. These connections will
multiply all over and will further
involve increased angelic interactions, visitations, and a sense of the
cooperation of the cloud of witnesses.
In the words of Alice Walters, you need to
find your pulpit in unexpected places to share what you carry. Every one of us
is a minister of some sort, which is to say you’ve a message unique to you that
you need you bless our world with. Are you a teacher in a school environment?
Then you need to realize that you have been posted there by God for a purpose.
And you must take your place and fulfil your mission. Life has two principal
priorities – our relationship with God and our service for Him. Are you’re a doctor
or a nurse, your workplan is you’re your platform for ministry. What ever work
you are handling now is your platform for ministry.
Discovering your Platform
In
the Old Testament, platforms were rigid. The priests were selected and must
remain so, serving God. They were given assignments based on God’s grace, gifts
and positioning. However, the service of non-priest was not inferior to those
who had the privilege to serve as temple priests. They complemented each other.
In fulfilling the ministry leaders like Moses and Aaron, craftsmen like Bezalel
were invaluable to the fulfilment of the assignment. Bazalel, did his work so
well that 480 years down the line, King Solomon used the same brazen altar
crafted by Bezalel to offer his 1000 sacrifices to the Lord (Exo. 38:22; 2
Chro. 1:5-12 & 1 Kgs. 6:1). So, you can see that the altar made by this
gifted craftsman lasted for over 400 years, this attest to the quality of the
work he made.
In Exodus 31:1-6 (AMP version), we see that
Bezalel, was filled with the Spirit of God, wisdom, intelligence and knowledge
so that he can make all that God commanded Moses. He was able to produce the
items with all the intricate heavenly patterns and designs set forth by God.
That is why we need the modern Bezalel in today’s church.
The
Old Testament reveals the following ministry platforms
1. Priesthood,
where the tribe of Levi, sons of Aaron were assigned to handle.
2. Prophetic
Ministry, where Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nahum etc’ featured.
3. Royalty
and we see King David, Solomon etc
4. Administration,
here Joseph, Daniel, Nehemiah revealed their giftings.
5. Craftsmanship
where Bezalel, and Aholiab manifested their skills.
6. Music
ministry and the sons of Asaph, Jeduthun etc were examples.
7. Scribes,
writers and recorders like Ezra
8. Service
where we find the Gibeonites who were hewers
of wood, drawers of water as an example.
The
New Testament Ministry Platforms are
1. Apostles,
Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers
2. Practical
Service
3. Helps
4. Generosity
5. Workers
of miracles
6. Mercy
ministries – Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42)
7. Administrations
8. Medicine
– Luke
9. Writing-
Authorship – Luke, Paul, Sylvanus, Tertius (Rom. 16:22; 1 Pet. 5:12)
10. Earthly
Governments and rulers were called ministers of God (Rom. 13:1-10)
11. Business
owners and employers (Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 4:1); Lydia (a seller of purple Acts
16:14); tentmakers and builders (Acquila and Priscilla, Paul Acts 18:1-3);
Landholders and developers (Acts 4:34-37).
12. Accounting/Tax
collectors-An example is that of Zacchaeus who did not resign from his job with
the internal revenue service following his encounter with Jesus, but brought
his new found faith and equity to the marketplace see (Lk. 19:1-10).
Today,
we need to engage society so that we can become influential in the market
place. Let’s consider the following text and examine them carefully to see what
God expects of us.
“So,
he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and
Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season” (Acts 19:22).
“And
the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and
Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they
rushed with one accord into the theatre” (Acts 19:29).
Responsibilities
change in life with time. In the text above we find Timotheus and Erastus
ministering to Paul, and Gaius, Aristarchus as companions to Paul in his
travels. However, by the time Paul was writing to the Romans, their status and
platforms in life had changed.
“Timotheus
my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, mu kinsmen, salute
you. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius mine
host, and of the whole church saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of
the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother” (Rom. 16:21-23).
Brethren,
Platforms can change as God promotes us or helps us to better understand where
he has decided for us to be planted. From the text above it is very clear that
once Timothy ministered to Paul alongside Erastus, but when Paul was writing to
the Romans, Timothy had become Paul’s fellow worker, and not just an assistant.
He was now a “full time” preacher of the gospel and history has it Timothy
later became the Bishop of Ephesus.
Erastus,
a former assistant to Paul had at this moment become the city treasurer, which
is equivalent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or Governor of the Central
Bank of Corinth. I believe Erastus rose to this position as a result of the
discipleship he received under Paul and his integrity as a brother in the city,
and most of all his accounting skills and expertise.
Gaius,
one of Paul’s travelling companions had become a prosperous philanthropist
using the vast resources God had given him to extend generosity to Paul and the
whole church! He hosted Paul. Tertius on the other hand, a former assistant to
Paul has become a literary giant who wrote the epistle to the Romans (v. 22).
He had improved his skill so much that he was able to capture the thoughts of
Paul as he spoke forth by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Today,
the church needs believers who have identified their platforms in life and are
willing to pay the price to remain there to do the needful. Your platform may
change over time, but you must at any particular time identify a platform from
where you will reach out to the nations of the earth. Your sphere of ministry
from the platform God has given you may not be global, or even national, but
once you have found your platform and are sure this is what God has ordained
for you, go ahead and maximize it for God’s glory.
If
you are called to “full time ministry” or you are called to be a city
treasurer, or literary giant, or into business making a lot of money for
kingdom promotion, stay in your call and do your very best. I want you to know that ministry location is
not limited to the pulpit in the church alone. When Jesus said go into all the
world and preach the gospel, he meant every word of it and believers ought to
obey this command in all walks of life.
In
the New Testament, we find Jesus and or the disciples ministering in different
locations such as the wilderness, temple, synagogues, the streets where for
instance Paul’s shadow brought literal healings to many; the mountainside, the
upper room, homes like that of Levi and Cornelius, the market square; lecture
halls of Tyrannus, courtrooms – where King Agrippa exclaimed, “You almost
persuaded me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:27-28) and in the prison (Acts
16).
The Word of Life in your Mouth
The
first revelation you need to grasp is the fact that you have the word of life
in your mouth.
“But what saith it? The word
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word
of faith, which we preach” (Rom. 10:8).
“My Spirit, who is on you,
will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will
always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their
descendants—from this time on and forever” (Isa. 59:21).
Once you become a Christian, there is a
message on your heart that you must speak out to help this sick and dying
world.
“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to
glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach
not the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16).
Paul
said, “I am compelled to fulfil my duty by completing this work. It would be
agony to me if I did not constantly preach the gospel” (TPT)
Do not limit yourself by thinking that the
platform for you to disseminate your message must be the church alone. Don’t
even think you must be on “full time” to necessarily fulfil your ministry. Most
believers in the New Testament did not abandon their work to serve Jesus, but
they rather served him using their work as a platform.
In the New Testament we find out that Zacchaeus
did not resign from the internal revenue service upon becoming a Christian, the
Proconsul did not abdicate his office on receiving Christ, there is no
indication whatsoever that the Philippian jailer discontinued his work after
conversion; Lydia continued her textile business on receiving Christ; Aquila and
Priscilla were builders/tentmakers like Paul. There were believers who were
wealthy, who were “masters” and had slaves working for them.
We are all on full time
The platform may vary, but it would be a
great thing for all believers to realize that they have a message to deliver
and necessity is laid upon them and that it would be agony to them if they do
not constantly preach the gospel. The purpose of this article is to remind
believers that there are several platforms for Christian ministry.
You could be using the buses, tracts, social
media (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp etc), workplace to reach out. Are you a
doctor, a nurse, lawyer, technologist, craftsman, farmer, banker, teacher,
administrator, politician etc., When we all realize that we are all on
full-time for the Lord and we all prepare to go to our offices the same way the
Pastor prepares to preach his sermon in church then our world will be changing
very fast for good. Whether we are in the mission field or in the marketplace,
if we understand that we are full-time ministers of the New Testament, not of
the letter that kills but of the Spirit that gives life then I would be
fulfilled that you have taken the needed deliverable from this article. As a
Christian worker, study, pray, fast and seek the power and manifestation of the
Holy Spirit with the same intensity a Pastor would in preaching in a Sunday Church
service for His greater glory. Prepare to occupy for the Lord using your different
identified platforms God has revealed to you. May God help us to see that day
fast in Jesus’ name.
REFERENCES
1.
American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
2.
Briggs D. (2020). The Seventh Greatest Spiritual Platform Shift in
History, Accessed 15th March, 2023, https://deanbriggs.com/the-seventh-greatest-spiritual-platform-shift-in-history/
3.
Walters A. (2022). Finding your
Pulpit in unexpected Places, accessed 15th March 2023, https://alliespraise.com/finding-your-pulpit-in-unexpected-places/
4. Nweka F. (2015). Marketplace Ministry: Using
our Platforms in the Marketplace to Transform lives, cities and nations,
Burning Books, Nigeria.
