Direction of the Gospel Ministry

In this essay we are not focusing on the general leadership of the Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s people in general, but rather we are looking more specifically at the leadership of Holy Spirit provided to gospel ministers in their ministry of the gospel.  Like other children of God, they have the leadership of the Spirit in their personal lives.  This subject we address in a later essay.

There are three major areas in which each true minister of the gospel needs direction in ministering the gospel to God’s children:

 

1.  They need direction as to where and to whom they are to go and preach the gospel.

 

2.  Pastors and teachers need direction as to where and to whom they are to serve as overseers or pastors.

 

3.  All gospel ministers need direction as to what they are to preach each time they preach. 

When the Lord was with the apostles and other seventy he sent forth, he gave them specific direction as to where they were to go and preach the gospel, where not to go, and what to preach:

 

1.  Matt. 10:5 “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Here the Lord told the twelve that they were not to go into the way of the Gentiles nor into any city of the Samaritans.  They were to go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  In addition, he told them what to preach: they were to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

2.  Luke 10:1 “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”  Here the Lord sent the ministers forth by twos into the cities that he himself would come.  Each pair was to go to a particular city that the Lord directed them to.

 

3.  Luke 10:9 “And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”  Here the Lord gives the seventy the message they were to bring to the ones they were to preach unto.  That message was that the kingdom of God was come unto them. 

Today, we do not have the Lord in a human body on earth directing the gospel ministers.  However, the Lord promised that when he departed he would send another Comforter which is the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit which now gives direction to his messengers as to where they are to go, what they are to preach, and where their field of labor is to be.  The following verses illustrate these principles:

1.  Acts 8:26 “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”  Here the Holy Spirit directed Philip unto where he was to go and to whom he was to preach. 

 

2.  Acts 10:9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. 17  Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, 18 And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. 19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.” 

Cornelius had been instructed of the Spirit to send for Peter and then Peter was instructed of the Spirit to go with the men to Cornelius.  Moreover the Spirit showed unto Peter that he had a people among the Gentiles and that he was to preach unto them.

3.  Acts 16:6 “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. 8  And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. 10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.”  Here the Holy Ghost directed Paul and Barnabas as to where they were not to preach at this time (Asia and Bithynia) and where he wanted them to go preach (Macedonia). 

 

4.  Acts 20:28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”  In the instruction to the elders of the church at Ephesus, Paul told them that it is the Holy Spirit that established their field of labor.  It was the Holy Spirit that made them overseers (pastors). 

Based on the above examples, we learn that the Holy Spirit directs us as to where we are to go and preach the gospel, to whom we are to preach the gospel, and to where our field of labor is, and what we are to preach on any particular occasion.  From this, we learn that it is not up to the minister or up to a church to direct the ministry as to where he is to go, to whom he is to preach, where he is to pastor, or what his message will be each time he preaches.  In all these things he has the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Church plans and planning boards to direct the spread of the gospel are foreign to the scriptures and really are an affront to God because it says that we do not believe the Lord is able to direct us or that he will not direct us or it says that we believe we know better as to where we should go than the Lord does.