The Sunday News
Itai Chapunza
Psalms 133 verse 1 to 3
HOW good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forever more. A song of ascents.
Pastor Mhembere first taught me this principle of the dew of Hermon and what it means back in 2015. It simply means you are blessed while you stay in the house. The house is your source of blessing. The world loves to encourage freedom. Freedom from all sorts of authority and guidance. Being under authority is perceived as bad by the world. They show this seemingly good life while free from authority. Going and coming as you please, eating and drinking as you please. I will outrightly say this, this is very bad and it is from the devil to desire to be free from authority. This is not the way God intended His people to exist. We should always be under some sort of covering.
In the case of a church there must be a hierarchy as well. The village church must be under the covering of the city church, the city church must be under the regional church and that under the global church. Within each church there must be a leader who leads everyone through appointed departmental leaders. This keeps everyone moving at the same speed and to a specific direction. This means nothing in the house should be done without the leader being aware of it and allowing it. I should not produce a book without my immediate pastor’s approval. If anything is done without his knowledge, then it’s a sign of disloyalty and unfaithfulness. He must know everything. Unless it is a surprise party, I do not see the reason why it should be hidden from him. In fact, if you are planning to do anything and in your heart you feel the pastor cannot know, immediately that should tell you that it is an idea from the devil.
Having a hierarchy in the church protects the smaller churches from attack by demonic forces that may destroy it before it matures. It does the same for church members who are under one father. You may not know it but because of his prayers for the church, some evil things that may have swept you away are held back. The explanation is simple, by the anointing placed on him by God and the office he holds as a pastor, he is spiritually superior to us. But the trick is to submit yourself under this authority. If you merely attend the church but are rebellious to his authority, never fool yourself to say he covers you. A father can only protect you when you stay in the confines of the house. Just as we can only protect our children when they are where we instruct them to be at a given time. So submit yourself under the authority of the leader and you will be surprised by the doors that will open. I have encountered a lot of people that belong to particular churches and they are rebellious to the pastor, if you analyse the lives of those people, they are full of unnecessary struggles. Yet other people in the same church have testimony after testimony of the goodness of God to them. The key is how they perceive the leader. Starting from the departmental leader, to the bishop himself. How you perceive him determines how much he impacts your life.
Never seek to exist outside the covering of your father for it is through this that you receive blessing. God gives things to your father and that way it also becomes yours. A speaker at one conference I attended gave an illustration of this in an amazing way. He said when a baby is learning to eat, the mother will take some food it, chew it. The mother then puts it in the mouth of the baby. That way they are able to take it in. In the same manner a father will receive a blessing and revelation from God, he then reduces it into small portions which he can serve his children who may not understand them when they come from God directly because we are still spiritually babies. In my experience I began to receive many spiritual gifts in my life from my father the moment I submitted to his authority. He takes things that I would not understand while reading the word and break them down to smaller portions and I take them in bit by bit until I fully understand the meaning. And after a while when I do a personal assessment, I realise that I have taken in a very big concept but I has been over a long period and at a rate which will prevent me from chocking and being confused.
I will point out two particular gifts I received spiritually but are now manifesting in the physical. Harvest House is a church that has the grace of writing and leadership. These two are very prominent within the house. But it took time for me to begin to flow in these two. But with constant feeding I realise that I and many other people in the church find very easy to write books. It is just natural.
You walk into a Harvest House conference, there is a lot of literature. Endless books, modules, magazines. I have also noticed the grace of leadership in my life through being submissive to the father of the house. Every time that I look for a job something happens. In every company that I work in, I am always made the leader, without fail. It has happened so much that I do not even doubt it anymore. Even if I am employed as a cleaner today, within a short period I will become the restaurant
manager. It takes one to really be part of the grace through submissiveness to the father through your immediate leadership.
Different churches have different graces, thus, to flow in the grace God has given to your church, be one with the father. I dare to say it goes beyond the church. This also applies a general life principle. If you are a loyal person, people tend to reciprocate that to you. If the company you work for sees your loyalty to its goals, then promotion will come far easier. If you are a businessperson and committed to providing the best for your clients, then naturally you will retain clients. In business also you must have a mentor that guides you on the direction to take. Be loyal to your mentor, they are a pillar of strength to you and your business. One may wonder why I mentioned clients as part of those that one must be loyal and attentive to. The truth that will help a lot of businesses is that, when you are in business, the client is your employer, keep them smiling, and your business has a future. Keep them mad and you will soon close shop. Connect and be of one heart with those that lead you, the sky will not be the limit. It will be the starting point for you.
