“Beloved, we have dedicated this season to the sole purpose of expounding and releasing grace concerning the matter that is so well articulated in the book of Isaiah chapter 54 and verse 2 that says,
“Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.”
In this verse, we see several actionable commands that are given to us in relation to the advancement of the kingdom of God in the earth. Here are those key commands:-
1. Enlarge the place of your tent – A tent is a temporary dwelling generally made of strong cloth stretched over poles and held in place by cords reaching out to stakes driven into the ground. It is the typical dwelling of nomadic peoples. Biblically speaking, a tent speaks of a family or people. Enlarging our tent therefore means that we need to increase our capacity to accommodate more people in our lives and ministries. This requires that we adopt a more outreach oriented approach in all that we say and do. This means that we have to get dissatisfied with the status quo as we raise our eyes to the fields which are all ready for harvest. It is time to establish a new horizon in the spirit.
2. Stretch the curtains of your dwellings – Curtains are hangings of cloth and they represent the grace, gifts and anointing within the believers. Stretching means to make wider and points to the dynamics of increasing the reach and effectiveness of our ministries and careers. This will basically require a more strategic in-reach with the view to equip all the saints for every divine assignment.
3. Do not spare – This speaks of the need to avail or release every grace, skill or ability for the continuation of the good work of expanding the kingdom of God in the earth. The end result of this “spare not” attitude is the maximization of every potential and the cumulative acceleration effect in the work of the ministry. This will lead to the propagation of divine purpose and grace within the body of Christ.
4. Lengthen your cords – This demand points to the need to enhance our personal and corporate interactions with the view of building and strengthening covenant relationships that will form a net that will draw many more to the kingdom of God. This will reduce pressure in our co-working and will bring more pleasure and joy to us as we delight ourselves in the greatest commandment – LOVE. Our lengthened cords will display the love of God to all who are around us.
5. Strengthen your stakes – Stakes are pegs, paddles or nails that keep a tent firmly fixed to the ground. Strengthening of stakes speaks of the need to raise strong leaders and building effective systems and structures through which ministry can be delivered to all. Strong leadership brings stability to a ministry, church or family. Strong leaders build an internal security system that brings a resting assurance to all as they continue to be grounded in Christ.
While the promise to expand us on the right and left still stands, and while our God is committed to give nations and uninhabited cities to us, we have a major enemy to deal with – and that is FEAR! Fear is a destructive negative emotion that has the potential to immobilize, kill initiatives, abort visions and dreams, cause sickness and disease, generate tension and cause shame or reproach. However through the help of our God, we are able to overcome this deadly vice as we practice the following spiritual disciplines:-
• Depend on God for our necessary fruitfulness.
• Trust in the redemptive work of Christ.
• Believe in the sovereignty of God.
• Overcome the spirit of rejection and grief.
• Lean on the sure mercies of God.
• Believe in the covenant of divine grace.
• Believe in the covenant of eternal peace.
As we walk in obedience to God, He will enable us to be more fruitful in the kingdom and our seed will be mighty in the land. They will be great sons whose internal make up and external manifestation will be peace, righteousness, establishment, liberty and courage. They will be taught of the Lord and will have a high level of spiritual intelligence. All these cannot come to being without the necessary apostolic and prophetic input and action. We must all understand that breaking of barrenness is a process that requires that we cooperate with Christ in our walk of faith in obedience to the word of God. To be able to do the will of God in our generation therefore, we need to know and understand the dispensation of the grace of God and our God-ordained purpose on the earth.
Ephesians 3:1-2
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,”
In every generational dispensation (oikonomia – oikos [house] + nomos [law], God establishes an order in the earth which becomes an economy or form of spiritual transactions. The dispensation or ADMINISTRATION of the church, which is the same as the Melchizedek or Christ order, is one in which both purpose and grace meet together in one – that is in Christ.
Acts 13:36-37
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.”
Everyone is born to serve their generation. In order to serve one’s generation, a person has to find the heart and mind of God in that order. David sought the heart of God first before he could figure out what was in His mind. In every generation, the people who seek to fulfill their divine assignments have to follow after God’s heart before they can find God’s will or mind. That is what makes love the greatest – love for God leads to love for humanity, and love for humanity leads to personal fulfillment in life and ministry. Loving God means obeying Him or living by the standards of His word. That is why the new covenant is about the writing and placing of His word in both our hearts and minds
(Hebrews 8:10, 10:16).
Ephesians 3:10-12
“10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
2 Timothy 1:8-11
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”
It is interesting to note the following things concerning Purpose and Grace:
● Fulfillment of purpose attracts positive suffering for the glory of God.
● We were saved and called to fulfill divine purpose.
● Grace is given to us to enable us to fulfill divine purpose.
● Purpose and grace were here before any one of us got here.
● Our purpose and grace was revealed by the appearing of Jesus Christ.
● Divine purpose and grace function in appointees and not volunteers
Our divine appointment is our dispensation which is the dispensation of Christ. It places upon our shoulders the exact ministry which Jesus Christ began to do and teach.
From the Greek root word TITHEMI, appointment means –
● Settling a matter in the heart.
● Laying everything else aside so as to pursue a specific goal.
● Bowing as of the knee in submission and worship.
● Giving or yielding oneself for the fulfillment of a specific task.
● Allowing the will of another to be done in our lives.
● An ordination for a specific task.
● Setting or putting or placing someone in an office or position.
Everyone is born to serve a generation and to leave a positive legacy for future generations. The one who does not see corruption (Christ) must be given room in the ones who sees corruption (men).The ultimate of divine purpose is to reveal the incorruptible in the life of the corruptible. It’s to reveal the immortal in the mortal – to reveal Christ in man. This is the eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus eternally before the world or time began. The will or purpose of God is eternal in nature and exists in the eternal dimension and can only be fulfilled where the help or grace of God is made available. May the Lord help us to fully comprehend our mandate for the season and may He help us to locate the requisite grace to service the demand of the hour.
Remember: when PURPOSE is discovered, GRACE is unlocked and TIME is redeemed. Blessings and peace to you all. Amen.
James Mbugua
Senior Elder – Fountain Gate
& Associated Ministries