TAKE

THE MANTLE!

Aleele Imabel Paago

© DeepWords Publications
April 2023

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Take The Mantle
Christianity is a race. It is a race that carries the intensity and urgency of a
sprint, yet the perseverance and focus of a marathon.

Many years ago, I had a vision about my home church. I was made to observe
an ongoing battle between the kingdom of darkness and the members of the
church. At first, I didn’t know anyone in the kingdom of light. But I noticed two
things. 1. The number of people in the kingdom of darkness did not decrease
nor increase. It remained constant. 2. The kingdom of light fought in waves. At
some point, the people in the frontline will suddenly disappear and a new set
of leaders will engage the battle.

As the fight progressed, I saw people I knew as a little child in the church, then
before long I saw my father and some other leaders of the church. Then they
too passed on and I saw a new younger generation take up the fight and
suddenly I found myself in the fight. That was when I realized that I was
watching a timeline of my church. I realized that God depended on each
generation to contend for the faith and run the race.

At each inflexion point, leadership will change; batons will be exchanged and
the battle/race will continue. The runners change. Times change. Situations
and circumstances change, locations change, even strategies change, but the
objective remains the same.

The body of Christ in Nigeria and worldwide is standing on the verge of an

inflexion point. It is the point where batons are exchanged from one
generation to another. Not everyone is sensitive to this season and the
implications of missing it can spell grave outcomes – not for the universal
Church of Christ – but for individuals and local churches. By local churches, I
mean specific denominations (even those with national and international
spread) and smaller units like one-campus churches or local parishes.

The direct implications of this are two fold:

1. God is recruiting new leaders.
2. Strategies for the body of Christ is set to change irrevocably.

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The first outcome of this is that there will be a fight. There will be internal
resistances. Sons will rise against fathers. Fathers will disown their sons. It is
the discomfort of growth, the pain of progress, the challenge of change. The
older generation will resist the change of the next generation.

Like someone once said, the greatest obstruction to the next move of God, is
the last move of God.

Fathers and sons who understand this transition point will have a smooth
baton exchange. They will limit the damage, minimize the pain, and sustain
the momentum of the race for the benefit of the kingdom of God.

Churches who don’t understand this will experience bitter break-ups, leaving
many with spiritual and emotional wounds and scars.

In this new series, I pray that God will open our eyes to the reality of the times
we are and what we must do, either as sons or fathers running this relay race.

2 Timothy 2:2
And the things that thou hast heard of me amongst many witnesses, the same
commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Please feel free to share this devotional thoughts widely to your church groups
and contacts.

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THE CHRISTIAN RELAY RACE
Acts 1:1-2
In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do
and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen
apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. (NLT)

There are two layers to the Christian race. The individual Christian race (the
micro or household race), and the collective race of Christians within a period
and a broad location, (for instance a country). Let’s call this the macro
Christian race. (apologies to the economists)

The strategy of a competitive relay race is very instructive to our discussion.

Usually, the best teams/coaches start the race with their best runner. He
determines the pace and tempo of the race. If the start-off is bad, the rest of
the race will be a struggle. It is almost assured that the team will lose.

If on the other hand the starter is very good and gains advantage over the
other runners, it gives the subsequent legs in the race a better chance of
winning, provided they do not lose focus and momentum.

Because it is difficult to predict what happens in the course of the race,

coaches usually reserve another exceptional runner – maybe even better than
the starter – to end the race. The idea is to cancel out whatever errors and
losses that the middle runners may have made. No matter how good the race
has gone, it is not won unless and until the final runner wins his leg of the
race.

Keeping this analogy in mind, let us now apply what we know of relay races to
the Christian race:

Acts 1:1-2 show us the start of the Christian race. Jesus is declared as the
captain of our team (Heb 2:10) He ran the opening leg of the relay. He made
an open show of the forces of darkness. This he BEGAN TO DO and TEACH.

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Jesus before he started his ministry on earth, thought of the baton exchange.
Who will I handover this baton to? Do they know how to run this race? What
do I need to teach them? Before he built a followership or a congregation, he
first selected the next batch of leaders.

Does your church have a leadership succession plan? Or do you leave such a
sensitive matter to be determined by painful human emotions? You do not
need to look far to see ministries that died or broke-up in bitterness the
moment the headman was called into glory. They were anointed, but they
didn’t take the leadership lesson of Jesus.

Jesus handed the baton to not just the 12 Apostles, but to 120 men and
women in the Upper Room. Their race is well documented in the book of Acts
of the Apostles. They handed over the baton to trusted leaders who carried it
forward until we are now in the scene. God’s intention is to bring the best
runners on the scene to finish the race in a grand style. To achieve this, every
Christian generation is trained to see itself as the LAST LEG in the relay race.

We know that Jesus may tarry another generation, but hey, that’s not our
concern. Our concern is to run like we are the final generation and to finish in
glory. Thus, we lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us as
we run the race that is set before us. We know that if we don’t finish well the
next generation will pay for it. And not only the next generation, but everyone
who ran before us will lose their reward. (Heb 11:39-40) We must all win
together otherwise we lose together.

If you listen carefully to the sounds of heaven on any day, you will not only
hear the angels sing, you will also hear the gasps of “ohs” and “ahs” that the
former runners now spectators (cloud of witnesses) scream every time one of
us drops a baton in sin or their cheer when we are doing well.

THE BATON EXCHANGE

The baton exchange in a normal relay race is a sequence of activities. It takes
place in such rapid succession that the untrained spectator really does not
know that there is a protocol to it. Batons are received in the left hand and
handed out with the right hand. The implication of this is that the runners must

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not align directly. They must create a room for side-by-side running during the
exchange otherwise the exchange will go wrong.
The implication of this for the Christian race is as follows:
1. The next leader will not have a perfect alignment with the last leader.
Accept it. Focus on certain things may change, priorities may change,
methods will change. The only rule here should be as it is with the
physical relay team – stay within your defined lane. For as long as the
core values and vision of the ministry is not changed, encourage the
younger leader to find his space and be comfortable to run alongside.
For instance, the Redeemed Christian Church of God under its
founder, Rev. Josiah Akindayomi, was primarily a prayer fellowship
limited by the language of service – Yoruba. When Pastor E. A.
Adegboye took over the leadership, without necessarily changing the
structure, he added on other innovations that ensured the vision could
break out of a mould and serve a larger public – a young, educated and
upwardly mobile demography. He could have held on to the methods of
the founder and while they will be rejoicing that they have maintained
the ancient landmarks, they would have lost out on the glorious
landmarks in new territories they now celebrate.

2. The receiver of the baton has to start running BEFORE the bearer of
the baton arrives. The reason is so that he builds up momentum and
does not start at zero at the moment of the exchange. Leaders cannot
wait until their deathbed or until a transfer to another location is
announced before they begin to raise new leaders and give them the
opportunity to try out, make mistakes, get corrected and still continue.
Joshua was already leading an army under Moses. When Moses goes
up to fast, Joshua joined in the fast. Spotting leaders early and
recruiting them early is probably the best kept success secret of the
Catholic Church. The continuous existence of the church for two
thousand years is proof that they have got it right in leadership
succession. The key is in the recruitment of young reverend fathers in
their teenage years and training them to lead the church until they are
80 or 90 years old. Today, most Pentecostal churches will look for
successful businessmen with a good bank account to appoint into
positions of leadership. The vision is not sustained by bank accounts.
They will look for retired civil servants hoping to benefit from their wealth
of experience. Unfortunately, such a practice does not give room for
long term strategic plans.

One of the ministries that best demonstrate this today is the Mount Zion
Movies. Under the tutelage of their parents, the children of Mike

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 Bamiloye have taken the storytelling of Mount Zion to new heights. We
have also seen many churches move from a Youth Fellowship mentality
to a Youth Church approach. This is a bold step in the right direction.
You must look to the next generation to select leaders for the next
generation.

When Jesus started his ministry, he picked men who were his age
mates and slightly older. The probable reason was that they were to
lead their generation and then raise leaders for the next generation.
Thus, we see Apostle Paul raising Timothy, Titus, John Mark etc who
were unmarried youngsters to carry the gospel forward. These zealous
youths with a spirit of adventure could dare the new world. They were
abreast of the reigning technology and could maximize its use. But that
transition wasn’t easy even for the early church!

Because of the plague of political leadership that has stricken Africa, where
nations recycle old generation leaders through a malfunctional electoral
system, the churches in Africa tend to adopt this practice. They would look to
the team of elders to raise a leader for the upcoming generation. They will
recycle contemporaries of the current leader in order to manage feelings and
fulfill a sense of “emilokan” (it is my turn, because I have paid my dues). The
church is neither a democratic institution nor a business corporation. The
church is first and foremost a spiritual organism (then a spiritual organization).
The race she is running is a spiritual race. Success in it does not necessarily
depend on experience but on the supply of the grace of God through the Holy
Spirit. Access to this grace is not by biological age or “Christian age”, that is
how long one has been in the church. You will be amazed at how many elders
in the church are babies in understanding of the precepts of God. They will
teach errors very confidently and hold on to ancient landmarks to preserve
status quo. That is their understanding of leadership.

Let no one despise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an
example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and
in purity. 1 Tim 4:12 (AMP)

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ARE YOU CALLED?
Preparation is a huge part of the mantle exchange. In Christianese, a mantle
is a symbolic word for an office of spiritual authority. It is not just the call, but
the authority backing the call. The kind of mantle determines the direction and
impact of the call.

An apostolic mantle is different from a prophetic mantle or a teaching mantle.

One music minister may have a worship mantle, another may have a praise
mantle. The kind of mantle will show through the movement of the Spirit
during each ministration.

Contrary to sentiments in certain quarters that some ministers called

themselves and were not called by God, the bible teaches that there are two
doorways into “the call”.

Door 1:
And no one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by
God, just as Aaron also was. Heb 5:4 (NASB)

Door 2
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a
good work. 1 Tim 3:1 (NKJV)

It is either God calls you or you call God. Either way there is a call and an
answer.

Both passages above were written by the same man, Apostle Paul. He wasn’t
writing in confusion or under duress. It doesn’t matter then whether you were
called by God, or through your personal desire or through the human desires
of the leaders of your church or by hereditary – where the ministry is passed
down from parent to child. The critical thing is then to “make full proof of thy
ministry.” 2 Tim 4:5

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CAN A LEADER TRANSFER ANOINTING?
Now that you have received the call what next? How do you make a full proof
of your ministry? How do you put the mantle to effective work?

This is where we need to make a distinction. This is where the mantle

becomes relevant. The call may come through any means, but the mantle –
the authority – can only come from God.

The administrative authority may come from the constitution of the

organization, but the spiritual authority that backs the office is strictly a
spiritual transaction.

We all desire that moment of contact, that moment of transfer or impartation,

when a father lays hands on the next leader and anoints him/her. This highly
spiritual activity needs to be very clearly taught and understood based on
biblical principles.

On the issue of anointing and transfer of mantles, there is need to understand

the spiritual dynamics at play.

The laying on of hands, creates a deposit. It transfers a seed. (2 Tim 1:6) This
seed does not come from the leader, it comes from God. No man can give you
an anointing. Only the Holy Spirit can anoint.

When a father lays hands on a son/daughter to usher them into ministry, he

does not give them of his own anointing. Why? He does not have an
anointing. The anointing is the exclusive preserve of the Holy Spirit. What the
father does by his laying on of hands, is to take the protégé through a spiritual
door and put him/her in a room for an encounter with the Holy Spirit. He is
only setting up a divine appointment for the junior person.

The leader cannot transfer “his spirit” to another person. But the protégé can
“contact and receive” of the spirit of the leader. This may initially sound a bit
confusing or complicated. But it is straightforward.

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No where in the bible do we see a superior giving his anointing/mantle to a
protégé. What of Elijah and Elisha? What of Moses and the 70 elders?

Let’s look at what the bible says about these cases.

2 Kings 2:9,10
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And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha,
Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha
said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
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And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me
when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be
so.

Elijah was asked to anoint Elisha, but he never did. When Elisha asked for a
double portion of the spirit of Elijah, he was told he can get it but Elijah did not
say, “I will give you.” Firstly, we must accept that Elisha did not get a clear
understanding of the Holy Spirit. He was asking for “the spirit of the prophet”
while meaning “the spirit of prophecy.” These are two different things. The
New Testament makes it clear to us.

Elijah did not handover the mantle. The Holy Spirit did. Elijah only set up the
appointment for the encounter.

This is exactly how we also see with Moses and the 70 elders (Num 11).
Moses set up the appointment and God gave the spirit to each man as He
pleased.

And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take of the Spirit which
is upon you and will put It upon them; (Num 11:17).

Only Jesus could share of his own grace (anointing) and that was in his
capacity as God, not as man.

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And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. John 1:16 (KJV)

THE SPIRIT OF THE PROPHET AND THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

Interestingly, that the spirit of the prophet cannot be shared does not mean
that it does not play a role in the mantle transfer. It plays a very significant
role. It is a role that the church has not given much time to teaching.

To fully understand why a leader cannot transfer anointing mantle we first

seek to make clear differentiation between the spirit of the prophet and the
spirit of prophecy.

1 Cor 14:32
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

We often misinterpret this verse to mean that the Spirit of God is subject to the
prophet. That is not the actual or intended meaning of the verse. The spirit of
God is not subject to any human spirit. It is the supreme spirit of life. However,
the Spirit of God during prophecy operates through the spirit of man (the spirit
of the prophet). The prophet must willingly grant the Holy Spirit permission to
use the vessel of his human spirit.

Rev 19:10
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy
We know that the operation of prophecy (spirit of prophecy) is by the Holy
Spirit. There is only one Holy Spirit. So the reference to “spirits of the
prophets” here show that it is referring not to the Holy Spirit but the human
(individual) spirits of the persons prophesying.

If there is a spirit of the prophet, it is safe to assume that there is also a spirit
of the pastor, teacher, evangelist, apostle, etc. This is demonstrated in 1 Cor
12. The gift of prophecy is very distinct from the office of the Prophet. The

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same is applicable to all the 5-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit in the body of
Christ.

The gift of prophecy is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit per time. It does not
make the channel a prophet. The gift of teaching is also a manifestation of the
Holy Spirit per time. It does not make the person a Teacher. It is exactly the
same way that the gift of speaking in angelic tongues does not make you an
angel.

The office of a prophet, apostle, evangelist, teacher, pastor etc is a gift of

men. It is a mantle beyond the periodic manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It is a
constitutional (or governmental/administrative) position. It means that these
offices (that is the person ordained into the office) has been given the
authority to “administer” God and portray him or better still, represent God in
this specific position.

The way a Prophet administers God to the people is different from the way a
teacher or miracle worker represents God to the same people. Every time a
teacher takes the word of God and preaches, he is technically prophesying.
Because he is saying the mind of God but that does not make him a prophet.

The same way we have the spirit of a prophet, is the same way we have the
spirit of a pastor, etc. But the Holy Spirit remains one. The Testimony of Jesus
is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10). The Testimony here refers to the “Word”
as in 1 John 5:7. This confirms that the Spirit of Prophecy is the same as the
Holy Spirit.

With this background, it is clear that the human spirit cannot be shared
between two persons. Only the Spirit of God can be shared because it can be
omnipresent – being at every place at the same time. But each human spirit
experiences the Divine Spirit uniquely. The expression of each mantle is a
joint partnership between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit. Though it is the
same Holy Spirit, yet the prophecies of Daniel are uniquely different from the
prophecies of Isaiah.

The same Holy Spirit, but the teaching of Joel Osteen will be vastly different
from the teaching of John Hagee. The teaching of Pastor Adegboye, will be

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vastly different from the teaching of T.D. Jakes or Chris Oyakhilome. The
ministration of Tim Godfrey would contrast vastly from Victoria Orenze. Why?
It is the flavour of the individual human spirit and the distinction of each
mantle!

The ministration of a mantle can be so powerful or someone can be so

connected to a mantle that he acquires (without any conscious effort) certain
characteristics of that mantle. The specific human flavour can thus be
transferred or learnt through influence. It is also possible that one can acquire
the unique characteristics of a mantle whose bearer he never ever met or
heard. John the Baptist had the mantle of Elijah, even though they never ever
met. There is a process through which this happens. We will consider it in-
depth.

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ONE CONTACT IS NOT ENOUGH

We live in a generation that believes more in the shadow than the substance.
When we meet a celebrity, we will rather snap selfies to post on our social
media than ask for the secret of their success. We are driven by a need to get
others to “like, follow and subscribe”. We want to be influencers without a
charisma.

We will rather travel from city to city asking to be laid hands on and to be
anointed by successful men and women of God rather than find out what they
did and pay the price they paid to become what they are. There is absolutely
nothing wrong with meeting men of God to be prayed for. We all need the
appointment set for us. But the anointing of man is not enough. The laying on
of hands is not enough to give you the mantle.

It takes a lot more.

Apostle Paul reminds Timothy thus:

2 Tim 1:6
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is
in thee by the putting on of my hands.

He had dropped the seed mantle in the spirit of Timothy. Something else must
be done to activate it. It is not enough to be anointed by the greatest prophet
or teacher or businessman. The seed will remain a seed. The mantle will
remain inactive unless and until the seed is activated through the authorised
spiritual principles guiding that particular transaction/encounter.

The day Jesus resurrected from the dead, when he met with his disciples that
night he breathed on them and said – Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22).
Did they receive the Holy Spirit on that day? Yes!

If it is so, then what happened on Pentecost, fifty days later? Was that not the
day the Holy Spirit descended from heaven? There is no surer proof than this
to show that one touch is not enough when it comes to operating with the

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mantle. No matter how powerful the man of God is, he cannot be more
anointed than Jesus. There is a process to receiving and manifesting the
mantle.

You can receive a commission through a vision, a night dream, a prophecy,

an encounter in the Word (Bible) or physical anointing by a man of God. No
matter how awe-inspiring and overwhelming the experience may be, it will
never be sufficient to manifest what you have received. All you get in that
encounter is a seed. You must fan it into flame. You must cultivate it, grow it,
groom it, and let it find expression.

We will break the spiritual process into very simple steps for anyone desirous
of taking advantage of the mantles of grace for impact. By impact we are not
talking only of being in the pulpit or in the church. No. There is a mantle for
every field of human endeavour and the spiritual process for receiving and
manifesting them remain exactly the same.

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PROTOCOLS FOR YOUR MANTLE
No matter the field of human endeavour, if you want the help of heaven to
succeed, here is the simple plan to gain spiritual mastery that will translate to
physical excellence. This plan works well whether you are a student,
business man, parent, politician, preacher, film maker or armed robber.

It doesn’t matter the nature of what you are doing, this spiritual principles of
the mantle will place you in a different level once you activate it. The principles
and practices are the same whether it is God’s spirit you want or the devil’s
assistance.

Here is the simple plan:

1. Separation powered by desire
2. Intense prayers during the period of separation
3. Study
4. Exercise the mantle
5. Join a network

We will spend the remaining part of this devotional looking critically at each of
these elements. May God grant us the grace to move on to higher levels of
impact.

PROTOCOL 1: SEPARATION POWERED BY DESIRE

Pro 18:1 (KJV)

Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth
with all wisdom.

There are numerous examples of this separation in the scripture.

You must seclude yourself into a place of prayer and personal preparation.
This separation marks the beginning of the process of consecration. It is in
this place of isolation that the nature of what you have received will be
unveiled to you.

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Jesus when he was baptized of John, received the Holy Spirit – the seed. It
took 40 days of seclusion in the place of prayer and temptations before that
seed became a ministry. We see in the life of Jesus the periodic withdrawal
into personal isolation to gain spiritual ascendancy.

John the Baptist was separated from the ministry of Levitical priesthood and
sent into the desert where in prayer and fasting he remained until he was
given the method of water baptism as the tool of his assignment. That
assignment was to identify Jesus and introduce him to the world.

The apostles had to stay in isolation and prayer for 50 days after Jesus had
ministered the Holy Spirit to them before their ministry could take off.

Paul had his encounter on the way to Damascus. He immediately went into a
three-day fasting prayer. Then God sent an ordinary believer named Ananias
to him. This brother was not an apostle or a deacon. He was just a brother
who was faithful in the place of prayer. When Paul received his sight, he did
not go to meet the Apostles for anointing or laying on of hands. He went into
the place of seclusion in the desert of Arabia.

Gal 1:16-18 (TLB)

When all this happened to me I didn’t go at once and talk it over with anyone
else; 17 I didn’t go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles
before I was. No, I went away into the deserts of Arabia and then came back
to the city of Damascus. 18 It was not until three years later that I finally went to
Jerusalem for a visit with Peter and stayed there with him for fifteen days.

It is this separation unto a place of personal prayer encounter that Paul

teaches Timothy to push for. It is much more important to have an abiding
encounter with the Holy Spirit than to have an anointed man of God anoint you
every week.

BIRTHING THE MANTLE

What are you to separate from:
They are three broad categories of separation.

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 1. Physical Separation, and
2. Functional Separation
3. Ideological separation

The ultimate goal of the process of separation is to achieve the ideological

separation. It is a separation in mindset, in principles, and worldviews. This is
what will drive the change in character and attitude, that will then translate to a
material manifestation of your mantle.

While it was easy for God to carry out a physical separation of Israel from
Egypt, it seemed almost impossible to achieve the ideological separation –
removing Egypt from their minds. The whole of that generation had to be killed
off, before a mindset of the Promised Land could be birthed in the nation.

PHYSICAL SEPARATION
The physical separation involves two dimensions:
a. Spatial separation, and
b. Emotional separation.

When you separate from your family and friends for a season to pray, you are
separating in space. When one ministry is called out of another, there must be
a spatial separation. One party has to move to a new location.

God asked Abraham to separate from his country (Haran)

Gen 12
God had told Abram, “Leave your own country behind you, and your own
people, and go to the land I will guide you to. 2 If you do, I will cause you to
become the father of a great nation;

I like the way the Living Bible puts it in verse 2. IF YOU DO…

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Most times, until the physical separation takes place the physical
manifestation of what you have received cannot be seen. Until Jesus was
physically taken away from the disciples, they could not manifest the glorious
mantles they had received from Jesus! Peter never knew that his shadow
could heal the sick, he never saw Jesus heal anyone with a shadow!

The baby must be separated from the mother through a process of birth. Until
this physical separation takes place, the baby cannot become what he or she
was created to be. The process of physical separation is always painful. It
calls for a great sacrifice.

There is no childbirth without pain and spilling of blood. If you honestly seek to
manifest a mantle, you must be willing and able to pay this price of separation.

EMOTIONAL SEPARATION:
While one may be able to change his physical location the mantle seeker must
also know that there is an emotional separation that is also involved. One may
stop seeing a side-chic for instance, knowing fully well that it is destructive to
his mantle as a parent or a businessman or pastor. Yet, his emotions are still
entangled with the person or with the concept of adultery. He has separated
physically but not emotionally and ideologically. The implication is that he will
soon go back to what he is physically separated from.

When God asked Abraham to separate from Hagar on the instruction of

Sarah, it was the emotional separation that was the focus. When God asked
Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, it was the emotional separation that was being put
on the altar.

Some of us are so attached to our families and friends that we cannot fulfil the
plan of God for our lives. Recall the day Jesus “disowned” his mother and
siblings? Matt 12:47-50. He pointed to his disciples and said those were his
family. It means as far as his purpose on earth was concerned, he picked
Judas Iscariot above his family! That is unthinkable.

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Emotional separation from family and loved ones is the hardest thing to
achieve in the place of separation. It makes one easily misunderstood. It is the
point where a wife withdraws from sexual intimacy with her husband and can’t
provide an explanation. It is the point where a man takes a decision that is
irrational to the rest of his family because he must pursue the dream.

Just imagine if a family friend very close to Jacob saw Joseph been sold as a
slave in Egypt. He will sell anything, raise any amount to buy Joseph and take
him back to his father. He will believe he is doing something very good. But
indeed he would be taking the young man out of his destiny.

God permits some deaths in our families just so that certain emotional
affiliations can be broken and the mantle released. Abraham had to lose his
father in death before he could proceed on the journey of destiny. Then he
had to break up with Lot before God took him to the next level. The sons of
Judah had to die for Tamar to exercise her mantle. Peter and the 12 apostles
“abandoned” their families to be with Jesus on his mission.

Jesus’ teaching on this topic is one of the most challenging messages he

preached on earth. And he was unapologetic and unambiguous about it.

“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy
of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not
worthy of being mine. Matt 10:37 (NLT)

The intense love of family, their well-wishes and good intentions can easily
become counter-productive as far as the purpose of your life on earth is
concerned. This is the primary issue Jesus is talking about when he says a
man’s enemy are members of his house. He wasn’t necessarily talking of
witchcraft.

The comfort zone granted by family is not the place for the manifestation of
mantles. The stage and the call is bigger than your family.

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SEPARATION (Some examples)

Separate from your internal weaknesses– the weaknesses of your life that
have the capacity to hinder the manifestation of the mantle. You will not know
what these weaknesses are until God reveals them during your days of
separation. They might even be things you considered as your strength.

A man may not know that he has an internal weakness with sexual immorality
because the circumstances required for that to manifest are not in place yet.
Or he may not know that pride is a weakness in him because he has not
become rich or famous. A broke person is always humble. It is in the place of
separation that the Holy Spirit will reveal this hidden weakness and deal with
it.

Separate from your food.

Your love for a particular kind of food or entertainment can become
hindrances to the mantle you have been given or seek. Daniel had to separate
himself from the food served in the king’s palace. It wasn’t because the food
was sin, it was the price he had to pay for the mantle he carried. John the
Baptist had to live a life of fasting, he separated from daily delicacies and lived
only on honey and locusts. Samson had a mantle that required complete
abstinence from alcohol to manifest.

Separate from your vocation

Moses had to let go of his lofty royal career as the Prince of Egypt to become
the Servant of Israel. Zacchaeus and Matthew had to let go of their career as
tax collectors. Mr. Peter’s love for fishing had to be sacrificed for Apostle
Peter’s mantle to emerge.

Separate from Marriage

Anna was made to be a widow (maybe childless) for 84 years and she fasted
every day for the coming of Jesus. Her mantle required that much dedication.
It was her prayer cover that kept Mary and Joseph in the stormy days of their
relationship. Apostle Paul separated himself from marriage in order to bear the
mantle. As a human being, it was completely within Jesus’ rights to enjoy

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marriage and his family/society demanded it of him as a mark of responsibility
but he separated himself from marriage. (Matt 19:12)

A note of warning on separation

It is important to point out that the teaching on separation cannot be given a
blanket generalization. The only thing that is common is separation from sin,
which is primary requirement for the kingdom of God. Every other form of
separation can only be as directed by the Holy Spirit for the individual. It is
critical to sound this this out because most people will assume and even teach
based on their experience that what Pastor A or Mrs B separated from is what
you must separate from. This is very incorrect. No one is permitted to elevate
a personal demand from divinity into a doctrine. Peter for instance cannot
make it a doctrine that every fisherman must abandon fishing to serve the
Lord just because that was the context of his experience. Only the Holy Spirit
will show you what exactly you need to separate from.

In a much broader context, some churches insist that to serve God in a

pastoral office for instance, you must abandon your vocation. They use the
example of Peter and the apostles as the basis. That was not the case for
Apostle Paul. His love for law, zeal and passion for standards, and even his
tentmaking business were the tools of his mantle. He was never required to
separate from these.

Jesus did not separate himself from drinking wine or eating good food; (like
Samson or John the Baptist) but he separated himself from marriage.

It is in the place of devoted interaction with the Holy Spirit that he will place a
unique demand and burden on you as your mark of service.

May God help us!

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FUNCTIONAL SEPARATION
Recap: We identified three broad categories of separation required of the
mantle seeker. They are:
1. Physical Separation
2. Functional Separation
3. Ideological separation
We have looked at several dimensions of the physical separation. Now let us
see Functional Separation.

Acts 2:46
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Acts 5:12 Meanwhile, the apostles were meeting regularly at the Temple in the
area known as Solomon’s Hall, and they did many remarkable miracles
among the people. 13 The other believers didn’t dare join them, though, but all
had the highest regard for them.

Acts 6:2-4 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and
said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full
of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the
word.

Notice the progression of separation in the passages above.

At first, it was all the disciples praying and fellowshipping together. As the
mantle became heavier the required separation was also raised. Soon the
regular (all comers) fellowship could no longer service the mantle of the
apostles. They had to hold a different Apostolic fellowship that was exclusive
to the 12. This may be misinterpreted as pride but it is not.

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There are levels you get to and your level of fellowshipping can not be
satisfied with a one-hour thirty minute service on Sunday or a 40 minute
Zoom prayer meeting. Those services can serve some people and keep them
spiritually fit. But if you carry a mantle that has some value, it won’t be
sustained by such “superficial” (not artificial) engagement.

Notice that the Apostles did not abandon those who were not at their level.
They kept that fellowship going as well. They were ministering to the people!
That is what will spell spiritual pride – when you conclude that you do not need
the fellowship of those below you on the spiritual ladder, when you believe you
do not need their prayers in your service and walk with God. It is not even a
question of balance, it is a question of necessity.

The fellowship of the apostles is to service the apostolic mantle. While the
fellowship of the entire house is to exercise the apostolic mantle.

Notice also that the separation didn’t end there. The Apostles were still very
involved in the day to day running of very important aspects of the ministry like
the welfare department. This was a key to their growth and one of the
instructions they had received from Jesus: to take care of the poor.

But sooner than later, the requirements of the apostolic mantle demanded
another level of functional separation. They were forced to narrow their
service to just two things – ministry of prayer and the word. Until they attained
this level of separation, the fullness of the mantles they carried could not be
fully experienced.

John the Baptist was born into the Levitical priesthood. He would have grown
up to become a serving priest and possibly become a High Priest because he
was so heavily anointed. But that would have been the wrong application of
his anointing. The mantle demanded that he be separated from the Levitical
priesthood. It cost him almost 27 years in the desert.

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IS IT TIME TO BIRTH A NEW MINISTRY?

Acts 13:1-2 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets
and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of
Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and
Saul.
|2
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate
me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Paul and Barnabas were serving as teachers (Sunday School Teachers and
fellowship leaders) in Antioch. They were devoted and effective. The mantle
they carried demanded that they be separated. If it were today, some leaders
in the church would have debated with the prophecy, “are we saying that they
are not working in the home church?”

This functional separation is the moment of childbirth in ministries. It is the

point that is most misunderstood and mismanaged. Both the person being
separated and the mother ministry from which they are separating must learn
to go at it with love, patience, understanding and great dose of spirituality.
They must allow the Holy Spirit to lead.

Let it be known however, that it is impossible for this separation to occur

without pains. There is no childbirth without a flow of blood. The pain should
lead to joy not to sorrow.

There are many pastors stuck behind cameras in our churches. Many
evangelists are stuck in prayer teams. Many apostles are stuck in choir stands
because the midwives do not understand the signs of the mantle and the
process of birthing a new mantle through functional separation. It is usually
because these people are good at what they are doing so we insist on
keeping them at it.

Stephen was good at ushering, but he grew and became a great miracle
worker even though he was not an apostle. The mantle does not depend on
what you are good at, it depends on the ability of the Holy Spirit. He is good at
everything. That great Sunday school teacher under you might be a General
Overseer, groom them and free them.

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Paul was a contemporary of Jesus. Why didn’t Jesus recruit him at the same
time he recruited Peter? That too was based on the theme of functional
separation. The 12 apostles heard it directly from the mouth of Jesus that the
gospel was strictly for the house of Israel (that is the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin alone). He barred them from preaching to the Samaritans (who were
the other 10 tribes that separated their place of worship from Jerusalem).
Paul’s mantle demanded that he go to the Gentiles. Functionally, he had to be
kept away from the group otherwise groupthink will prevent the manifestation
of the mantle.

Jesus was mentally ready for “his father’s business” at age 12. But he was
functionally unready. His mother ensured he was functionally separated for
another 18 years otherwise his zeal would have aborted his mission. Even at
that, when the separation came to it’s fulness and the mantle manifested, the
same family that he had been with claimed he was running mad! That is the
pain of separation.

Mark 3:21 And when those who belonged to Him (His kinsmen) heard it, they
went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind
(beside Himself, deranged)! (AMP)

The functional separation comes to elevate the mantle.

Again, functional separation cannot be generalized. Some separation retains

you with the group. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were disciples of
Jesus that remained with the Pharisees and Sadducees and Sanhedrin for the
purpose of Jesus. The madman of Gadarene had to remain in his home town
rather than join the group of Jesus.

Obadiah (1 Kings 18) is another prime example of reverse functional

separation. He was an ardent believer of Jehovah but a very faithful servant of
Jezebel. He knew how to bend without breaking. He understood how to shift
without compromising. He could roll with the dirty politicians and remained
clean for Jehovah.

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Only one thing seems certain: your functional separation will take you to your
place of maximum service and effectiveness.

Next, we will look at signs that show you are ready to branch out and how to
handle the process.

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UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNS OF BIRTH
How do I know when it is time to functionally separate the mantle?
Here are some helpful signs:
Taking a cue from nature, we can tell when a pregnancy is due and childbirth
is imminent.

1. The pregnancy has come full term. You can know this when the baby
has become bigger than the womb. There is a lot of discomfort. Every
stretch of the baby becomes stressful for both mother and child.

Many leaders see this discomfort as disobedience or pride in the child.

This feeling breeds distrust and can lead to persecution and
punishments or deprivations. The baby is stopped from doing certain
things, participating in certain programs or given any visibility or role for
fear he is growing too big for his skin. His suggestions are jettisoned for
fear it will make him popular.

The protege on the other hand sees the discomfort of the mother as
hatred, bias, political manoeuvring or even tribalism.

If both parties will set aside these negative emotions and go to God in
prayer, the Holy Spirit will reveal through a burden, and/or prophetic
visions and directions that it is a mantle at the point of birth. If the Holy
Spirit does not give this clarity, then the pains are premature birthpangs.
They are there to train the protégé and to reveal and remove certain
weaknesses that God wants to deal with before he can get started.

2. The nourishment from the mother is no longer sufficient to sustain the

child. At full term, the baby’s organs are sufficiently developed to the
point that just feeding from the placenta of the mother alone can no
longer sustain the child. For the mantle bearer, this does not necessarily
mean that the Word level or prayer level or fellowship of the mother
ministry or business has gone down or gone bad. It simply means that
there is a hunger for more.

Two scenarios are likely to play here. Firstly, if the hunger in you is not
satisfied by the food from the mother but get satisfied on a different
platform, then your mantle is not ready to be separated into a distinct
and different ministry. The second scenario is where it doesn’t matter
where you want to fellowship, you still continue to feel the

29
 dissatisfaction (the hunger for more) that you are not even able to place
your hand on. You are unable to explain why you feel the way you feel.
That is the sign for you to pull into the labour room and face God one-
on-one.

Be very careful that you are not being led by pride, by the suggestion of
people (who will stupidly tell you that your leader is using your gift to
build his ministry or business, as if you wouldn’t use the gifting of others
to build yours) or by offence from how you are being treated. The Holy
Spirit will clarify your hidden intents in the place of humility and prayer.

3. The Holy Spirit gives you a “new teaching or method” that is completely
at variance with what the parent ministry is practicing. This is very tricky
and often the cause of most pains and misunderstanding. Father Martin
Luther challenged the Catholic Church with the doctrine of Grace as
against the doctrine of purchasing penance. It birthed the Protestant
Church. When the wave of fresh baptism of the Holy Spirt hit some
people in the Protestant setting, it birthed Pentecostals. When the
Pentecostal movement went beyond speaking in tongues to
demonstration of power through miracles, the Charismatic churches
were born. This is a proven pattern in Christianity. Whether it is the
Holiness movement, the Deliverance and Prayer movement, the
Prosperity gospel movement, the Grace movement, or the no-Tithe
movement, mantles are birthed by these ideological separations.

Please note, that even though we have used the term “new
teaching/method” these are really not new because we can find them in
the bible.

4. The mother ministry tells you either by words or action that you no
longer belong to them. In this setting they just make life unbearable for
you and they can’t even tell you why they are punishing you. It is the
same way the mother hen makes life unbearable for her chicks so they
become independent. The discerning son who knows this is just a
birthing process will not grow bitter. Remember, there is no childbirth
without pain and flow of blood.

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IDEOLOGICAL SEPARATION
The whole essence of separation is to help us get to this highest rung in the
ladder of separation.

Ideologies speak of a mindset powered by a worldview. They determine our

approach and often times the means as well.

Ideologies form the bedrock of any organization. It determines who is served,

how they are served, when and where they are served. This is true for church
organizations as it is for business organizations.

It is ideology (creed of beliefs/doctrine or vision) that separates one

denomination from another. Just as one bank is separated from another not in
name but in approach to service delivery. A common word for this is vision
and mission.

Every vision and mission will determine what an organization will do as well as
what they will not do. A bank will not go into road construction. It is out of their
vision. A ministry set up to reach out to prostitutes will have a different dress
code from a ministry set to support widows.

Every mantle – spiritual, business, education, sports, entertainment – has a

backing ideology. You will operate in error if you do not understand the
ideology – the vision guiding your mantle.

Jesus never performed a miracle to prove himself (except his final miracle on
earth). All his miracles were to serve others and demonstrate the love of God.
His last miracle on earth was his physical ascension into heaven without a
wing, wind, horse, or airplane. And even this victory-lap miracle was intended
to strengthen the faith of his disciples.

Initially, Apostle James and John did not understand why a man with so much
power over all created things could allow ordinary mortals to push him around.
They struggled and their frustration showed. At one point they wanted to call

31
fire from heaven to destroy a whole village for refusing to give Jesus the
hospitality he deserved. (Luke 9:51-56)

Luke 9: 55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what
manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's
lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

The sons of thunder did not understand the ideology backing Jesus’ mantle.
Jesus wasn’t demonstrating power, he was demonstrating love. He didn’t
come for judgement he came with grace. This is not the same vision and
mission for the Holy Spirit hence their modes of operation are different. The
Holy Spirit killed Ananais and Saphira for instance, Jesus wouldn’t have done
that.

Peter’s mantle was to fish men (Matt 4:19) – all kinds of men – into the
kingdom of God. Peter’s mantle is to serve as a key. He opens the door of
Heaven (Matt 16:19) for everyone to enter irrespective of age, culture or
gender. Peter had to open the Gentile world to the gospel in the house of
Cornelius otherwise Paul would never have been able to minister to non-Jews
so effectively. In the exercise of his mantle Peter must necessarily be
confrontational to take over territories. Contrary to what I believed and taught
– Peter did not ask for Holy Ghost fire to kill Ananias and Saphira. When the
couple died, you would have expected that the event would scare people
away from church, but it opened the door for an additional 5,000 members!
That is the mantle at work.

Apostle John’s mantle was a mantle of love. Imagine the transformation that
will make a son of thunder become an apostle of love. The same man that
was calling fire and thunder to strike everyone, would rather say, “how can
you love God that you don’t see if you can’t love the human being that you
see?”

That’s what happens when the ideological separation had taken place.

Peter may have struggled to let go of his Jewish heritage. He struggled to

understand that circumcision was not a requirement to make it to heaven. But

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the same thing cannot be said about Paul. His mantle was non-traditional and
non-conformist. Paul will take territories by teaching and arguments and could
easily blend into any culture. His mantle was aptly represented by the tent. (It
fits into all cultures).

At one time he dared to tell his audience that the “juju” they were worshipping,
that they couldn’t identify and name was actually the God of Heaven he is
preaching! (Acts 17:23) He would quote a pagan poet and claim that those
words were divinely inspired. (Acts 17:28) None of the other apostles can dare
such brazen “contradictions” and sleep at night. But Paul was a man who
understood his mantle and was comfortable with it.

The battles you will fight are determined by the ideology of your mantle. If your
mind has not been changed your impact cannot change. You cannot succeed
in a market/business you hate. You cannot bring your best to a mission you do
not believe in. If you don’t understand the ideology of your mantle, you will be
frustrated.

That was the case with John the Baptist. He carried the mantle of Elijah. That
mantle was for the dictation of the spiritual atmosphere of territories. It meant
confrontation with kings and the rulers of the day. The mantle attracted
government persecution and Elijah’s approach was to employ direct spiritual
warfare. John did not understand this.

When the spirit of Jezebel confronted him through Herodias and her daughter
(just as Elijah was confronted through Jezebel) he failed to apply the tools
made available to his mantle and thus became a victim.

If you are not making the level of impact you desire in ministry or business,
you may have to review your mental attitude to the work of the mantle. Have
you made up your mind to fully take over the mantle? Have you settled your
worldview? How has it impacted on your mode of operation?

For instance, if you do not believe in the casting away of demons by

deliverance prayers, you cannot function in a prayer deliverance mantle. If you
do not believe in the gift of prophecy, you will struggle to operate in that office.

33
If you don’t believe in maximizing profit in your business, you are also not
likely to make profit.

Ideologies are more than just beliefs, they grow to become convictions. Beliefs
are things we argue about. Convictions are things we die for – literally. Until
the mantle becomes a conviction in your life, you haven’t got to the point of
the higher calling. You may have laid hold of the vision, but the vision has not
laid hold of you.

If you are wondering how to get to this level, then you must move up to the
next level in the mantle-birthing process. It is the Study level.

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STUDY. STUDY. STUDY!
Recall that we have identified that there are 5 steps for the mantle seeker. The
first step is the hunger and desire stage. The second stage is the separation
unto prayer stage. The next stage is the stage of Study.

Paul taught Timothy to “study to show yourself approved unto God, a

workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The mantle may be spiritual but its manifestation is usually physical. What you
received spiritually, will require your physical inputs to begin the process of
transformation and impact. It starts with study.

We must learn all we can about the work we are called to do. Are you gifted
with the gift of prophecy? Have you studied about HOW to prophesy? The
naïve or the unserious will quickly tell you that these things are spiritual and
cannot be taught? Really?

So how did Prophet Samuel create a school of prophets? What were they
learning? Are you called into the ministry of singing? How much of it have you
studied? Do you believe you have a mantle of healing and miracles? How
much time have you invested in studying and getting the insights from people
who have track records in that field?

Study to show yourself approved unto God. Your first and must critical
approval is unto God. Your diligence in study is what proves your answer to
the call of the mantle.

Study requires discipline – both mental and physical. Study requires

application in both theory and practical.

In comparison to prayer, the easiest way to unlock spiritual portals and new
realms is through study. In the place of study you contact mantles of the
fathers and this is so vital in the place of success.

35
In the place of study, you find a mentor whose teaching begin to deposit the
grace that he carries into you. (Not his/her spirit, but the grace which comes
from Jesus). It is in the place of study that mysteries are unfolded and
uncovered, systems are developed and these will make your journey easier
and your impact greater.

This is the reason that God commanded that the bible be written. The same
way you contact grace through the written word of God in the bible, is the
same way you contact grace through courses, audio or visual or written texts
from human sources that have walked the path you are now required to
thread.

This is the simple reason why scientists are required to do literature review of
any subject they are studying. By knowing what others have done in your field,
you are able to build on their work and inspiration and then open new frontiers
of impact and knowledge.

The Catholic Church takes the lead when it comes to studying for the ministry.
It takes a minimum of 10 years to undergo the priestly formation. In this
period, the intending Father is stretched mentally, physically and emotionally.
The Pentecostal segment of Christianity does not place so much emphasis on
training and studying and this is partly responsible for the lack of standards
and sometimes outrageous practices observed in that area.

A simple analogy will show us the importance of studying.

In the field of transportation, the more advanced the equipment the more
training one is given. A motorbike rider (not powerbikes) in my country,
Nigeria, does not undergo any training. They drive anyhow, and get into all
kinds of accidents. They are probably the most unsafe mode of transportation.

The car/bus driver undergo a higher level of training and are required to get
certified and issued a driving license. Many fail to go through approved driving
schools and so are lacking in the knowledge and behaviours required on the
road. But they are generally better than the motorbike riders.

36
Compare these to pilots and ship captains, who have to go through years of
training that form a fundamental nature, a thinking pattern, a decision making
pattern required for all kinds of foreseeable conditions. The margin of error is
reduced to less than 1%. This is why these modes of transportation are safest.

You wouldn’t travel in an airplane where the pilot tells you he is anointed and
has been on prayer and fasting for the last 70 days but has never been in an
aviation school. It is not because you doubt the anointing. It is because you
doubt the competency that comes with studying. He may have developed
stamina as a prayer warrior, but not as a pilot. This is the same way it is
dangerous spiritually to embark on a prophetic ministry or a healing ministry
without a commitment to studying but solely relying on prayer.

This is not in anyway to belittle the place and relevance of prayer.

STUDY TO SERVE!
Paul was a prayer machine. He didn’t tell Timothy, pray and fast to show
yourself approved. Or sow seeds to show yourself approved. He said STUDY!
Bend down and read the books if you are literate. Observe and ask questions
of those ahead of you. Then try your hands at it. That is the process.

Scientifically it has been proven that it takes about 6-7 years to gain mastery
in any field of human knowledge. That is why a master’s program in a
university requires that you must have done 4 years of undergraduate and two
years of post-graduate to gain your Masters degree. That time can be
shortened by how consistent you apply yourself on a daily and weekly basis.
For those who have gone through a tertiary education system, the credit units
of any course is an estimation of how many hours you need to study that
course in a week to gain mastery of it. A three-unit course requires only three
hours a week compared to a 5-unit course that requires 5 hours a week.

Apply this knowledge to your studying for business impact and ministry
impact. It is the reason the apostles had to cut short their engagement in
social welfare – attending to the physical needs of members of the church so
they can have more credit hours to devote to the Word and Prayer. Where do
you need to make a sacrifice so you can move ahead in your study? What is

37
most critical to your service that will require more time to develop? How much
materials do you have on this subject matter?

The currency you exchange for any skill on earth is time. How much time have
you invested in developing yourself and your skills? You may not have given it
a thought before but consider this. Subconsciously, we judge the quality of
churches by two things – the choir and the lead pastor. The choir is the
department in church that spends most time training for a service. If after all
their training and rehearsals and they come out with a bad performance,
subconsciously, you rate that ministry as being below average.

It is therefore not just the amount of time spent in studying and practice but
the quality of the study. Strive to learn from the best. Resist the temptation of
thinking that only your church or system has the best knowledge about any
issue. That is a deception from hell. Even Jesus advised us to learn from the
devil. “Be as wise as the serpent”, know what he knows, and understand how
he applies what he knows. The bible teaches us to learn from ants – ants! And
you are busy castigating other ministries instead of learning what you can
from them and moving on.

Let us assume that you are a student who struggles with mathematics, but
you really desire to be an engineer and you know that it will not happen unless
you pass math. A wise person will take the subject serious. He will open the
textbook daily and struggle through it. He will fail again and again. But if he
refuses to stop, one day, the spirits that teach mathematics will come and
begin to give him assistance and boom, he begins to understand and do well
in the subject. (yes there are angels with this specialization in all fields of
knowledge and the last chapter of this work deals on how to reach them).

Studying is the way you open the portals for mastery with the assistance of
the angels and their human agents. So, if you desire a mantle, study all about
it and you will get it. It is guaranteed.

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EXERCISE THE SPIRIT.
Practice using the mantle

You have desired, you have tried separation and you are studying, what else
should you do in taking the mantle?

This is the penultimate step in taking the mantle – you must exercise the gift.
You must put your skill and knowledge to work. You must be bold enough to
try. You must develop the courage to step out and do that which you have
always desired to do or which you are called to do.

Hebrews 5: 12 For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others,
you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of
God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food.
13
For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously
inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to
the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able
to talk yet]!
14
But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental
faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what
is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or
human law. (AMP)

No ministry will ever grow if the carrier of the mantle does not overcome the
fear of starting. No prophecy will ever come true if the prophet does not
overcome the fear of declaring what he cannot verify or guarantee. No healing
will ever take place in the ministry where no one is willing to take the risk of
praying for the sick and commanding a healing in the name of Jesus.

As babes, we do not exercise our mantle for very many reasons. But the chief
reason is fear. What if I go off key and the song goes bad. What if the senior
pastor listens to my teaching and I make a mistake? What if I pray and the
sickness does not go? What if I pray and the dead does not resurrect?

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These are legitimate questions, legitimate in the realm of reason but illegal in
the realm of faith. You can tolerate them in your head, but must not give them
space in your heart. Pray regardless of the outcome. Prophesy regardless of
the outcome. Teach regardless of who has more knowledge than you in the
congregation. Just do it!

Let’s be very clear about this issue. No one – NO ONE – ever gets it a
hundred percent right. Then where will be the place of growth? And where will
be the place of faith if you will only do those things that are guaranteed to be
successful?

Even the apostles that were walking face to face with Jesus doubted him. Do
you know why? Because it appeared like some of his prophecies were not
accurate. It appeared they were just a 50-50 chance.

Mark 6:5
So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few
of the sick and heal them. Berean Standard Bible

On that day, the disciples were wondering what could have gone wrong. Was
Jesus’ power dwindling? This passage was written many years after the
incident and by that time the apostles had gained understanding into why it
happened that way.

When they were at Cana and the wedding party needed wine, the water did
not turn to wine in the pots. The disciples must have been wondering, what’s
going on here? It was not until they fetched it out of the pots and went to
serve it that it became wine. Somewhere between the waterpot and the table,
the water turned to wine. It got fulfilled in response to their obedience. Some
prophecies will seem like lies until an appointed time.

Matt 10
23
But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say
unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man
be come.

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This was another prophecy of Jesus that the apostles struggled with. The day
he gave this prophecy he was sending them out in twos to go evangelize. Not
one of them was arrested or persecuted. When he told them that they
couldn’t have possibly gone to all the towns of Israel before his return, it got
them even more confused. It has been two thousand years and counting and
it seems that part of the prophecy wasn’t very accurate.

He prophesied to them about his death… they did not understand nor believe
him. Luke 18:30-34)
The net effect is this…
Mark 6:52
Their heart was hardened … They didn’t want to believe (TLB)

Did their unbelief and the purported “inaccuracies” stop Jesus from teaching
and prophesying? No. Do not let your own experiences, or that of others stop
you from exercising your grace.

As Paul teaches it is only in the place of exercise that you will grow. Some
learn and never come to the knowledge of truth because they never
experiment with what they have learnt. They never dare to try it.

A mantle that is not exercised will shrink! Knowledge is not power, it is only
knowledge that is put to work that becomes power.

What if I try and it fails?

You must have this experience. A child falls many times before he learns to
walk unaided. Each fall brings him closer to the day of perfection. The same
principle applies in spiritual growth.

Many genuine believers lose out at this point. Many are afraid to open their
mouths and speak in tongues for fear they will be speaking blasphemies or
that the devil will put words in their mouth! Many prophets and seers also

41
struggle with this fear of being used by the devil. While these are genuine
concerns they are truly thoughts projected by the devil to stop you from
entering into what God has prepared for you.

The truth is, you may speak in tongues out of the flesh, or prophesy out of the
flesh, but you have to be possessed by the devil to be able to speak satanic
tongues or give satanic prophesies. The same way a preacher can preach out
of the flesh and it still remains the word of God though not the WORD FROM
GOD, that is the same way your tongues and prophecy from the flesh will go.
It does not stop you from being a child of God, genuinely filled with the Holy
Spirit. It simply means you are growing and have to learn how to discern your
voice and the voice of the Spirit. You have to learn how to yield to the Spirit.
These tasks will continue throughout your life. Don’t let that fear ever stop you
again.

You are not responsible for the results when you pray, prophesy, or preach
that is God’s exclusive preserve. If it didn’t happen it didn’t happen. Hold God
responsible. That too is part of His glory, don’t touch it.

Heaven will not do anything on earth without the partnership of man. The
mantle is to make you a willing partner with God. That is a huge responsibility.
You are not just working for God, you are also a co-worker with God! 1 Cor
3:9
9
For we are fellow workmen (joint promoters, laborers together) with and for
God; (AMP).

When a preacher stands on the crusade ground and says, “go get all the sick,
the blind, lame and bring them here tomorrow, God will heal all of them.” It is
not all the time that God had expressly said so. But as a co-worker with God,
he declares this is the work we are here to do and God is committed to it. You
too have that permission as a co-worker.

What if they bring the dead and sick and nothing happens? Ask them to come
again the next day. Maybe God is using that process to train you or test to see
if you want the glory. May be you have not attained the level of spiritual
maturity to command such miracles. Whatever it is, you can only learn by
doing and doing repeatedly. No one ever mastered anything at one trial.

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Whatever you give, please don’t give up.

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: Prov 24:16

Seven is the mark of perfection, right? So, the 7th fall should be a man’s last
chance. But that is not the case with God. He says you will rise again!

Keep at it. One day soon, you will see the fulfilment of God and His
manifestation in your ministry. To keep at it, you need to be in the right
company. That is the final step in the mantle relay race.

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 5. JOIN THE NETWORK
When God gave me the idea for this study, this is what it was really about: to
show believers how to access the network that God has made available for
everyone running this relay race of the Kingdom of God.

Every mantle is supported by a network. There is no mantle a Christian can

operate today that you will not see a predecessor in the Bible and church
history. Most mantles, most ministries do not reach their full potentials
because they do not take advantage of the network that heaven has designed
and prepared for them.

The classic example is found in Mark 9. It is one of my favourite stories in the

bible. Jesus was in a city holding a teaching and miracle crusade. And this
fellow heard him make a declaration. “Some of you standing here will not die
until you see the kingdom of God manifesting in its full power.” (Mark 9:1)

He took Jesus literally and left the place to start his own crusade. Imagine the
boldness! Jesus was in town healing people and this man dared to start
another crusade healing people in the name of Jesus. Since this was not a big
city, one wonders how far apart the meetings were holding. But the surprise is
that people actually went to his crusade and they were being healed!

Then the sons of thunder (James and John) assisted by Judas and Thomas
and Peter and Andrew and Matthew went to go and shut down the crusade!
They interrupted the service and dispersed everyone! They had a legitimate
excuse, this man did not belong to their church!

Fight amongst church leaders didn’t start today. They stopped the service, but
they didn’t tell Jesus until they had left the city. Jesus also did not address the
issue. Not that he didn’t know. Since the miracles were taking place in his
name, he knew the service was going on and he knew when his own leaders
stopped the other ministry. But he waited for them to bring it up before he
addressed the issue.

Two things happened after they stopped the crusade:

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 1. Jesus went up to the mountain with Peter, James and John.
2. The people brought their sick to the apostles and they couldn’t heal
them. So, a riot was ready to break out.

They had stopped the one who was doing miracles in the name of Jesus, now
they that claimed to be the owners of Jesus could not do the miracles that the
other man was doing. Jesus really got angry with them.

Mark 9:19
19
Jesus said to his disciples,[e] “Oh, what tiny faith you have; how much longer
must I be with you until you believe? How much longer must I be patient with
you? Bring the boy to me.”

Notice that they had the mantle but they were not exercising it enough so they
were not growing. Notice that Jesus later told them privately that the reason
they couldn’t cast out the demon was because they were not praying and
fasting. That is the point of separation we have talked about.

Notice that Jesus was coming from the Encounter of the Transfiguration – an
encounter that speaks volumes about the spiritual network of the mantle. We
will consider it in depth since that is the main essence of this study. But for
now, let us go back to the brave preacher.

What happened to the one who caught the rhema and started a crusade and
got people to come away from Jesus’ ministry to be ministered to by an
unknown person in the name of Jesus? Nothing! We do not hear about him
again. Such a great and bold preacher became lost in the New Testament
Church. Do you know why?

He didn’t trust the other disciples.

He took offence at their approach and so failed to join them. Who wouldn’t? I
can only imagine what Judas and John could have told him that left a hole in
his heart forever.

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Perhaps he was struck with spiritual pride and isolated himself. Perhaps he
even joined the church but out of fear of criticism never ever tried again to
preach and carry out miracles. Whatever it was, the Church lost a great
minister.

He was wrong and the apostles were wrong.

Using this story as a parallel, have you not seen this scenario play out in your
own church? Just in case you haven’t seen it let me paint the picture the way
it happens….

WHEN THE NETWORK IS BAD

A young believer receives the gift of prophecy and in her zeal shares a
message to a brother. The brother who is very experienced and a leader in
the church tells her to “calm down, don’t run with zeal. We have been there
before.”

I had a bad experience a few years ago. I was in a church and a teenager
started prophesying. The protocol officers physically bundled him out of
church. I threw all caution to the wind and ran out of church after them. I
asked if the guy was possessed. They said he was disrupting the service. I
said I agree he is disrupting the service. But is it a demon he is manifesting?
They were not sure. I asked a stupid question: Let us assume that it is a
demon manifesting, should you take him out of the church or take him to the
altar where he can be delivered? They had no answer. The protocol officers
left me and him outside and shut the church door!

A young believer catches the fire and starts evangelism in Church. Next thing
a pastor comes out to say he is trying to get noticed. He should behave
himself.

I was in another church, when the pastor called out a brother that had a habit
(he said it is a covenant he made with God) to go on evangelism every
Sunday afternoon. The pastor thoroughly dressed him down asking how many
persons he had ever brought to church (not to Christ) and how fake his
evangelism was and perhaps he was trying to start a church. It has been over

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5 years now. The brother has not started a church so clearly, he was not
thinking of starting one.

Space will fail me to share stories about choristers who get knocked out by
other choristers, in words and attitude, they are prevented from touching
microphones, because they are too zealous, and want to show that they are
spiritual. I have observed sanctuary cleaners fighting over who has the
anointing to clean the altar! Sincerely. I have seen junior pastors who will
never be given an opportunity to preach because someone is afraid they will
“shine.”

What is going on here?

It is bad network! The call cannot go through. The person is frustrated, God is
disappointed, the baton is lost because the social network that God prepared
for that mantle has been spoiled by human shortcoming.

If this could happen right in the presence of Jesus it can happen in the
presence of the most anointed general overseer in the world. I am afraid it
happens in all churches in the world. There is no denying it, no running away
from it or pretending it is not happening. We can only deal with it through
teachings like Jesus did.

What is the network like in your church? Does it support the growth and
exchange of mantles and batons? Or like the apostles of Jesus, it stops the
emergence of new ministers?

When Jesus started his ministry, he had exactly the same problem. People
were leaving the ministry of John the Baptist and joining Jesus. Once Jesus
noticed that it was beginning to cause bad feelings in the other church, he
relocated from the town. (John 3:22 – 4:3) That remains a good example for
all to follow.

You cannot be called to start a ministry and your location is the next street
from the church you are coming from. Or you move to start a ministry near a
church that have invited you severally as a guest minister.

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Believers’ Social Support System
Here’s a true life story.

A man who was married to a very zealous, tongue-speaking, demon-chasing,

spirit-filled sister managed to go with his wife to a midweek service one
evening. He rarely ever went to church but never ever stopped his wife or
complained about her numerous church engagements.

During the service as the message was going on, his cell phone rang. The
volume was so high that it disrupted the service. Very thoroughly
embarrassed, the man struggled to switch off the phone, but if you have ever
been in such a situation, you know that’s the moment the phone will not let
you have your way.

Instantly, his wife scolded him. Told him how irresponsible and disrespectful
he is. Before he could fully take in the unkind words from his wife, an usher
and a protocol officer came to usher him out of the service! They talked to him
the way you would scold a primary 4 child. The looks and stares he got from
the members as he was ushered out said volumes: the devil had come to
church today.

No one sought an explanation. No one offered any sympathy. They all knew
he was visiting. They all knew he was an unbeliever. They knew that no one
can predict when a call will come to his phone. But because he didn’t belong,
he was “punished” for his bad behaviour.

The man drove off and stopped at the very first drinking joint he found. He
wanted to take some alcohol to calm his nerves. Still smarting from the bad
experience, he spilled the glass. The female bartender quickly rushed to his
aid, wiped the table, gave him a napkin to dry his shirt and offered him another
drink FREE OF CHARGE. She spoke so kindly to him.

That was the last time brother ever went to church. That was the day his
addiction to drinking bars started. If you struggle to see what is wrong with the

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way the church handled the ringing phone, then you are probably part of the
problem (my sincere apologies) that is affecting your church.

You can argue about this and provide a justification for the action of the
church workers. But then how do you explain this other situation? Another true
life story

A very beautiful and dedicated sister in the choir had an encounter with the
Lord during a guest minister’s ministration. She was delivered from the demon
possessing her. After that encounter, the women in the church became very
hostile to her. They wouldn’t let their children go near her and they wouldn’t let
her talk to any man, including the pastor. Their reason was that she will
transfer the demons in her and become a bad influence on their children and
husbands. When she had the demon, everyone accepted her and gave her
roles to play in church. Now that she is delivered she is an abomination. I call
it “The irony of believers!”

I have been in a deliverance prayer session with a team where they didn’t hide
the fact that they wouldn’t pray for a particular person because the church
leadership will place her above them later. In another church, I heard one
deliverance minister in anger stating that she prayed for a sister to get married
and that she will pray for the marriage to scatter!

We have to get to the point where our churches provide the kind of
atmosphere where people are free to fail and learn and change to become all
God wants them to be.

We have to teach our churches the importance of emotional intelligence. Have

you not seen people leave a church because what they confided in the pastor
in the place of counselling became the theme of preaching exposing them to
ridicule in the whole church?

There is always room for improvement in our believers’ support system. Let it
start with you. One person can make the difference.

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It was Barnabas that took Apostle Paul to the apostles before they could
accept him into the Church.

Acts 9:
26When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were
all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had
seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had
spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus.
28So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking
boldly in the name of the Lord

Our churches are in need of Barnabas, men and women who will see what
God is doing in the imperfect believer, the believer with a history of abortion
and failed marriages, the believer who is struggling with sexual immorality, lies
and still give them a chance to experience grace and grow.

The church is a hospital, if the sick is thrown out where do you want them to
get their healing?

SPIRITUAL SUPPORT SYSTEM

Recall the encounter of Jesus and the apostles in Chapter 9 of Mark. Before
Jesus corrected the physical support system, he first showed us the spiritual
support system that God has in place for mantle transfers. It is a perfect
infallible system. Please you will need to read this patiently and prayerfully.

There is an extensive spiritual network that God has built for all Christians.
This structure is available no matter your status in Christ. It is designed to
function here on earth. But sadly, most Christians are not even aware of its
existence. So, they cannot even take advantage of it.

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Heb 12
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the
life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin
that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set
before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who
initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he
endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of
honor beside God’s throne. (TLB)

This crowd of witnesses is a great tool that we have not been taught how to
use in the race. They are not just spectators. They are not just fans. They are
a lot more than this. They provide the spiritual support system that you must
access to make sense of your race on earth. Even Jesus had to make use of
them. We see that in Mark 9 as I will explain shortly.

But first let us see the complete structure of the Spiritual support network.
Heb 9
22
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,23 To the
general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and
to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

MOUNT ZION:
This is not referring to the physical Mountain in Jerusalem. It is talking about
the spiritual rock that travelled with Israel from Egypt. It was this Rock that
provided their every supply for 40 years in the desert.

1 Cor 10:4
4
and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the
spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.

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You cannot run this race without a constant supply from this Rock. This is a
dimension of Jesus that as a believer we must learn to appropriate. It is not
his dimension of forgiveness of sins (we see that later) this is his dimension
that meets your professional and daily needs regardless of the nature of your
calling and your maturity in Christ.

THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM

Located in Heaven and populated by angels. We are given daily access to this
city. We do not gain access only when we die. We gain access to this city
daily. God wants us here daily. Our supply is here daily. But the key is our
knowledge of its existence. (2 Peter 1)

2
May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all
necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating
passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full,
personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3
For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and
suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him
Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).
4
By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly
great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the
moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of
covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine
nature.

By knowledge you gain the divine nature. By the divine nature you participate
in the assembly and gain the blessings and support made available to all
participants.

COMPANY OF ANGELS
These angels are servants to those who are destined to be saved on earth.
(Heb 1:14) They are servants to the Church and Christians. They intervene in
matters and arrange many issues. They do more than deliver messages from
heaven. They fight our battles, they arrange our meetings with helpers. They
lead us to the right places at the right times. They serve as media announcers
broadcasting our work to the right audience.

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You will not always see them as beings with wings. The fish that transported
Jonah to Nineveh was an angel. The fish that brought money to Peter to pay
the temple tax for Jesus and the apostles was an angel. They are alive and
functional up to this day. That you have not seen them physically does not
mean they are not there.

But very interesting fact is that there are things these angels cannot help with.
You will see it as we progress.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General assembly is the governmental setting of Heaven. It consists of
the 24 Elders, 4 Beasts, countless Angels and redeemed human beings in
heaven as well as the Church on earth.

Rev 4
4
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I
saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on
their heads crowns of gold.

This council is where the watchers (not God or angels) make decrees and
determine what happens on earth.

This council is where votes are taken on who is to be elected by Heaven. It is

here that our appeals in prayer are tabled and discussed and judgment
passed. When you pray you come to this General Assembly. It is set in ranks
and the higher you are in rank, the more powerful your influence on earth.

Dan 4:17
This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of
the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up
over it the basest of men.

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CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN
The Church of the Firstborn is a mystical gathering. It consists of all the entire
church, from the eternal past, the earthly present and the eternal future. In
other words, believers who will be on the earth in the next 200 or 1000 years if
Jesus tarries also sit in this church. Their names are written in heaven
BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.

SPIRITS OF JUST MEN MADE PERFECT

This is where it begins to get even more interesting. These just men made
perfect are people some of them are right here on earth. Some lived in the
past and are dead but are granted permission to continue their work here on
earth providing assistance like angels when required.

Mark 9

And Jesus said to them, Truly and solemnly I say to you, there are some
standing here who will in no way taste death before they see the kingdom of
God come in [its] power.

What does it mean? It means some people will be translated to heaven

without death. It happened to Enoch, Elijah and I believe it was not restricted
to the Old Testament. It is believed in some quarters that Virgin Mary’s body
was translated into heaven without death. It is also believed by some that the
same was the fate of Apostle John. The early Christians actually had that
believe even when he was alive. Whether these people saw death or not is
not very important to our discussion here. The important thing is that they are
a part of the spiritual support system.

In Revelation Chapters 1-3 we see references to angels of the seven

churches. There is no way, God will take a human being (Apostle John) to
heaven so he can write a letter to angels that are in heaven! He called the
pastors of those seven churches angels, which means that they have been
made perfect even while still pastoring a church on earth. It is also interesting
to note that some of the churches were in bad shape but their leaders were
perfect and addressed as angels by Jesus! What an honour!

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Today there are still pastors on earth that have attained the status of
perfection in heaven and are designated as angels. They have a vote along
with the watchers and Daniel saw them as the “Holy Ones”. Dan 4:17

THE BLOOD OF JESUS

This is a powerful – extremely powerful constituent of the council of Heaven.

Once the blood of Jesus begins to speak, Heaven listens, earth obeys and
hell withdraws. When this blood speaks on your case there is no longer
arguments.

JESUS CHRIST

In this council Jesus manifests in different functions. We have seen him

manifest as the Rock of supplies on earth. We have seen him manifest
through the Blood. He sits also as the Mediator – the lawyer that argues and
negotiates our cases before this awesome congregation. Make no mistake
about it, if Jesus doesn’t represent you here, you can talk as much as you
want, you might even argue a case and win it but your eternal end is
damnation. When he mediates, he gets heaven to take a position and that is a
support you need. His role as mediator entails his role as High Priest.

GOD THE JUDGE OF ALL

The whole gathering is for the God of all the earth. He sits in supremacy that
cannot be described or imagined. He has the final say.

This is the full constitution of the spiritual support system. Now let us see how
it works. This will bless your heart!

HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS

When you get to a difficult position on earth, the entire support system is
made available to you. Perhaps you are depressed. The Rock will provide a
refreshing drink. It could come through your pastor’s message, a phone call,
or a funny video just pops up on your phone or YouTube gives you a

55
suggestion of a message you were not searching for that answers your
questions and restores your sanity.

A housewife might run into problems with her recipe. There are members of
the council who having faced a similar situation in the past are available to
give an idea that will save dinner. It didn’t just happen. Heaven sent you help.
These ones are not angels, these are human beings who understand and
know what you ought to do. They will whisper into your spirit. The sudden idea
will change everything.

I started with housewives because I need you to see that nothing is too small
for these helpers that God has prepared for us.

The night that Esther went to see the King for the first time, she was terrified
beyond measure. Every virgin would be. The thought of the pains and the
pressure of whether you will be good enough for the king is enough to make
the evening a terrible one.

Then God sent Rahab the harlot, she knew how to handle such men and such
situations. Rahab whispered to Esther to ask the eunuch what sex toy the king
loved most and how to use it. Esther would think it was just a thought. No, it
was the support system at work. She went with that into the room and won the
war!

Pastor Adeboye, recounts how he wrote his doctoral thesis in Mathematics. It

took the intervention of heaven. The Holy Spirit dropped things in his heart
using the Red Sea as the starting point. In a couple of hours he solved the
problem that had tied him down for months! I believe the Holy Spirit would
have gotten a notable Christian mathematician and guided that one to begin a
process in the mind of Pastor Adeboye. It works all the time.

Have you ever felt a burden to pray and you don’t even know who or what you
are praying for? That is proof that you are a part of the support system.
Perhaps you were praying for a sick child in Malaysia or a prisoner in China
who was about to be executed and was on the verge of backsliding. Perhaps

56
you were praying for a judge who was about to pass a sentence on an
innocent person.

Have you ever dreamt and seen yourself in an intense worship session? You
awake and your spirit is as refreshed as if you just came out of a physical
fellowship? You have been to the Church of the Firstborn in Heaven.

It doesn’t matter what situation you face, what challenges face you – at home,
at work, writing a book or a script, preaching, wedding whatever – God has
someone somewhere in this assembly that can and will help you.

Just so that you know these scenarios are not the imaginations of my heart,
God showed us clearly how these spirits of just men made perfect ministered
to Jesus shortly before his death.

JESUS USED THE SUPPORT SYSTEM

When Jesus came to earth, he was at the same time God and human. Most of
what he did that was recorded was his interaction as the new god-man that is
to say Son of God. He was giving us a template of how to live the God-life. He
was showing us the resources physical and spiritual that is available to us.

Most of the time, we see the angelic ministrations to Jesus. The night he was
born, in the wilderness when he was battling with temptation and in the
Garden of Gethsemane the night he was arrested. We hear God speak to him
audibly twice.

What we have not paid much attention to was how he used the other elements
of the great assembly. Did he use the Church eternal? Did he use the spirits of
just men made perfect? The answer is a big Yes.

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In the Garden of Gethsemane he pleaded for the Church to stand with him in
prayer but they failed. Three times he appealed. Three times they failed.

Let’s look in depth at how the spirits of just men made perfect ministered to
Jesus. Now if Jesus could benefit from their ministration, why won’t you tap
into such a vast network?

Mark 9
2
Six days after this, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John and led
them up on a high mountain apart by themselves. And He was transfigured
before them and became resplendent with divine brightness.
3
And His garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller (cloth
dresser, launderer) on earth could bleach them.
4
And Elijah appeared [there] to them, accompanied by Moses, and they
were [a]holding [a protracted] conversation with Jesus. (AMP)

See also Matthew 17

What were they discussing? Why Elijah and Moses? Why not David or
Abraham and Isaiah or Ezekiel?

Luke 9:30-31
30
Then two men appeared and began talking with him—Moses and
Elijah! 31 They were splendid in appearance, glorious to see; and they were
speaking of his death at Jerusalem, to be carried out in accordance with
God’s plan. (TLB)

All of a sudden, everything becomes clear!

Jesus was nearing his end. He had come to earth to do the father’s will. He
knew that that meant he must die, and he must die on the cross. He as God
knew these details. But there were things he didn’t know, even as God.

As God, Jesus was not used to being at one place at any time. It was strange
to him to be confined to a body that is restrained to only one location per time.
It was alien to his nature as God to be tired and fall asleep. He did not know in

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experience what hunger was. He had never been sick so he doesn’t
understand sickness. He knew it only in theory – in a generalized manner.

Imagine someone who had never been sick and was now about to face death.
And it was going to be a very painful death. As a man, he was getting worried.
He had confronted the spirit of death but as God or man, he had never died.
This was the reason for his depression.

Can I handle this? Can I go through this process? What will it be like? Part of
the reason Lazarus was very important to Jesus was so he can provide to him
some insights as to how to handle death as a human being. It is a path that no
one has ever travelled and come back so Lazarus was key. It kind of explains
why in the last week of his life on earth he was sleeping at Lazarus’ place.

But heaven had people who had faced death in all circumstances. Heaven
understood Jesus’ concern. No angel could help. But there were spirits of just
men made perfect.

Moses had died. He was judged by God. God was also going to judge Jesus.
If anyone can talk about that aspect it would be Moses, not Abraham. When
God judged and killed Moses, his body was been taken to hell. Jesus would
have to go to hell. How did it feel like? Moses could share his own experience.
Grace had intervened and recovered Moses from hell, he could assure Jesus
that hell wasn’t going to be able to keep him back in torment, no matter what.
Moses had the experience, no angel did.

Elijah on the other hand did not see death. He was translated. But he faced
the burden of death and its fear beyond anything that Moses experienced. He
faced such a great depression when Jezebel sent him word that he had 24
hours left to live on earth and his head will be cut off. Jesus was facing a
deeper level of depression. Elijah’s experience and testimony would help. And
the final assurance that no matter what, heaven was his final destination
irrespective of what happens at the cross.

They strengthened Jesus for the task ahead.

It is not because he is Jesus. God showed us this episode so we will know the
resources heaven has in place for our assistance on earth.

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LAST WORDS

What is it that you are battling with? Cancer? Death of a loved one?
Unemployment? Infidelity of a spouse? Betrayal of a brother or friend? How to
grow your ministry? Find a husband or wife? Raise money for a project?
Heaven is here to help you. Open your mouth and ask for it, then receive it in
faith with joy.

Do you want to start a business? There is someone in the assembly that is a

business mogul. All you need is connect with his mantle and then use it. Do
you want to plant new churches? Apostle Paul is willing to share his
experience.

This support system is particularly adapted to transferring mantles. That is

why they are so interested in the relay race as described in Hebrews 12:1-2.
They come alongside like Elijah and Moses to share secrets of the mantle and
then to cheer you until you handover to the next runner.

Today, there is no mantle you can operate on earth that does not have a
predecessor. You don’t need to know of them. Just go to the general
assembly and post a notice to Jesus about your need. Then see what
happens next. The Holy Spirit will ensure that every information you need is
transmitted to you either by dreams, visions, prophecies, study, or encounters
of diverse natures.

Please note that you are not permitted to contact the spirits of dead men. That
is the satanic counterfeit of this resources. King Saul did it and God permitted
the spirit of Samuel to go meet him and tell him of his death. (The existence of
the counterfeit is the proof of the existence of the original). Your only access
to the spirit of Just Men made perfect is through the torn veil – the resurrected
body of Jesus. Worshipping God in spirit and in truth is what grants you
access.

How? Matthew 7:7

Ask and you shall receive. Be bold enough to ask Jesus to provide you help
from Zion. He will send the right personnel to you.

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Seek and you shall find.

A sincere diligent search for the operator of your mantle will reveal who they
are. Research studies is one way to seek the information you need.

Knock and it will be opened.

You have to come with boldness into the assembly. In worship, tune to the
right frequency and allow the Spirit of God download ideas into your mind.
Portals of wisdom will open to you that will amaze the world.

Would you come to the Great Assembly and take the mantle destined for you?
Everyone is waiting to see how you will race with this baton.

What if all of these are just my imaginations? What if I don’t have any call on
my life? What if I am pushing myself into this? What if the timing is wrong?

I have only one answer for all your concerns.

Rom 5:8

But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death
while WE WERE OF NO USE WHATEVER TO HIM. (MSG)

If when you were of no use to God, he came from heaven to look for you and
die for you what makes you think that now that you are striving to be useful, if
you miss the timing or you are forcing yourself into it, what on earth makes
you think He won’t come looking for you to get you on the right path?

We won’t fail heaven! We won’t disappoint on earth.

Heb 12

12 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all
these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip
down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.
Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—
that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along
the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor,
right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over

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that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed
through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (MSG)

_THE END_

© TAKE THE MANTLE

_By Aleele Paago_ +2348023620564

DeepWords Devotional

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