As you walk out the plan of God, the Holy Spirit will lead you to people who are complementary to your calling. I could go throughout the entire Bible and give you example after example of how important relationships are to the plan of God. God is not trying to make you a lone ranger. You can sing, “as long as I have King Jesus, I don't need anybody else” all you want. You can sing a lie just as fast as you can tell a lie.
You need people. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:16 that every joint supplies. That means there is a divine supply that comes from other members of the body of Christ, and the only way you are going to get it is if you learn how to honor them.
There are different types of relationships that must be honored in your life. Everybody needs a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy in your life. These aren't the only relationships that we need, but these are primary and an absolute must if you are going to remain steady and finish strong!
Paul had an amazing ability to teach, exhort, inspire, and mentor. As an apostle, he had the ability to weave in and out of all the other five-fold ministry gifts at times, thus making him an invaluable asset to the body of Christ at that time. But when you read his letters, you see a side of the anointing that transcends a job description or a simple gift.
Paul prayed for the churches continually (Galatians 4:19, Ephesians 1:17-22, Colossians 1:9-12, Philippians 1:9-11). When you are walking out God's plan for your life, you need someone who is going to pray with you and pray for you. Someone who knows the Holy Ghost well enough to pray and not always feel obligated to talk to you or other people concerning what they are praying.
Paul was a vessel for impartation for leaders. This was evident in his relationship with Timothy. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy encouraging him to remain true to the Word, be a Holy Ghost man, and maintain his integrity. If you look at chapter 20 of Acts, you'll see Paul spending extra time imparting into the lives of leaders in Ephesus.
You need to be under the influence of a ministry like that – someone who can impart wisdom and endowments of the Holy Ghost into your life. The primary place where God has designed you to receive this is the local church. You are not going to find this kind of impartation in a bar, in a mall, or even in conventions and conferences.
You'll find it in a measure in a conference or a convention. But the bottom line is that you need to be vitally connected to a local church so you can receive a CONSISTENT flow of the anointing. You may say, “Well, I’ll get the anointing straight from God.” But remember, we are the body of Christ individually AND collectively (1 Corinthians 6:19).
So there is a supply of the anointing that we cannot receive on our own. If we could, God would have never said, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. (1 Corinthians 3:16) Even Paul was a part of the church at Antioch (Acts 13 and 18). So if the apostle Paul saw fit to have a place to call his home church, a place where he could be refreshed, then you need a local church – you need a place you can call home.
If you are a traveling minister, you need a pastor. Not just a spiritual father, you need a pastor. You need to be connected to an assembly where you can be ministered to consistently. I thank God for spiritual fathers. I have a spiritual father in my life where I can receive counsel and guidance concerning the plan of God. He is a tremendous mentor in my life, but he is also my pastor.
Many times the people that God connects you to for mentorship in the plan of God may not be pastors, but their presence in your life doesn’t eliminate the need for a pastor. I know traveling ministers that have spiritual fathers in their life, but the spiritual father doesn’t pastor a church. They feel that because they have a spiritual father, they don’t need to be planted in the local church; that’s one sure way to kill a ministry and shipwreck your family. There is a supply of the Spirit for you and your family that will only be found in the local church.
There are certain “meat and potatoes” type truths that all of us require if we are to be healthy Christians. These are truths that are consistently ironed out by pastors of the local churches due to the needs of the people in the congregation. Just because you are a traveling minister doesn't mean that you don't need this kind of teaching. In fact, sometimes we have to double up on some of these teachings just so we can maintain our love walk and finish our course with joy! I've only been in ministry for a few years, and I can definitely see the need to stay vitally connected to the local church.
Let's just say that you don't need the local church. Let's just say that you have all the answers. Are you married? Do you have kids? Well, guess what – that family of yours needs a church. Your children need youth ministry and children's ministry. Your family needs the relationships that come from being in a local assembly environment. Remember, iron sharpens iron!
Then everyone needs a Barnabas. A Barnabas is someone in your life that God sends to you for the purpose of coming alongside to help. They will probably have a strong anointing on their life just like you do, but they don't feel the need to compete. They don't mind being second.
They are not there to express their equality with you all the time. Although they may be just as anointed as you are, they don't capitalize on that. No, they have a supply of the Spirit to give into your life, and they are content with giving that. I’ve had some people in my life like this that weren’t called to do the same thing I’m doing, but they were like-minded concerning the ministry and offices that I walk in. Their supply of friendship and support helped me tremendously. People like this are crucial to your destiny.
Many times, these are the people in your life that open doors into phases of ministry and opportunities. In studying the book of Acts, we see Barnabas as Paul's companion on his missionary journeys. But Barnabas and Paul’s friendship began before their apostolic ministry.
Barnabas took him (Paul) and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and how he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out of Jerusalem. Acts 9:27, 28 KJV
Barnabas was the door of utterance into Jerusalem for Paul. Paul had a reputation for killing Christians, so a lot of people were afraid of Paul once he started preaching. They didn't know if it was just a trick to get close to Christians so he could execute them.
The only way around this problem was through a divine connection called Barnabas. Barnabas put his reputation on the line when he took Paul before the other apostles. God used Barnabas to show Paul favor, and Paul was able to enter the next phase of ministry. Can you see how valuable a Barnabas is to you?
Barnabas can open a door that you may have closed by foolish behavior. You have got to ask God to show you these pivotal relationships in your life so you can honor them and absorb all the anointing that comes with them. Your destiny is tied to it! Doors that you can't open may be opened wide because of a divine connection. But you won't get anything out of the relationship if you don't learn how to honor and respect them.
Then lastly, you need to have a Timothy in your life. Timothy represents the mentorship side of the plan of God. Everyone should have someone in your life that you are endeavoring to duplicate yourself in. Now I'm not talking about making clones. I'm talking about imparting into the life of others what God has shown you about His ways and His plan.
I believe that this is the lost element of the great commission. We don't mind doing Mark 16:15-18 and going into the world and preaching, teaching, healing, and demonstrating the power of God. But we forget that Jesus said for us to make disciples (Matthew 28:19).
Making disciples takes time. It's more than just teaching a message or preaching a sermon. It is an investment of your time, your anointing, and your life. You take everything that has been imparted into your life, and you invest that truth and wisdom into the life of someone else.
God places these people in your life because they have everything to do with where God is taking you in His plan. You can't finish the race without relationships. It's like the difference between a Greyhound bus and a Delta jet. You can get to your destination with both, but one is a whole lot quicker than the other.
If you really want to know the plan of God for your life in totality, you have to answer the question of what, how, and why. The will of God is the what. The wisdom of God is the how. The purpose of God is the why. God is not intimidated by your questions, but you have to be mature enough to ask.
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