Think about it for a second: God’s perfect creation, crafted and designed flawlessly by the mighty hands of God, was still lifeless and dead – and if left in that condition would eventually rot and stink – without the life-giving breath which He received from the mouth of God.

This communicates a very powerful principle to us today: We may be capable of building and erecting powerful designs and patterns in the earth which are biblically accurate and structurally sound, yet be completely void of the Spirit and life that emanates from the heart of God and is so necessary for us to be an accurate representation of His Kingdom in the earth.

In other words, sound doctrine and accurate structures, patterns or designs are no substitute for the breath and life of God that comes by the Spirit. It is possible to be externally accurate and yet remain inwardly and internally lifeless and corrupt. Remember the Pharisees? They were accurate in their external response to the requirements of God: They faithfully kept the Sabbath and lived righteous lives, they diligently studied the scriptures, they prayed and fasted often, they tithed and gave faithfully, and they were zealous to proselytize and make new converts to their faith, etc. They did everything that God required (and more) as pertaining to the law, yet they were rejected by God because their internal configuration was askew and because they rejected the Spirit.

Contrary to what some others may teach or believe, elevated sight is not the true mark of spiritual maturity; rather, it is the mark of high spiritual positioning. True spiritual maturity is demonstrated by our ability to reproduce a living Christ in the earth, and not just a lifeless “form” or “image”.

Moses was able to see clearly and accurately the design for the tabernacle as well as chart the course by which to navigate the people through the treacherous wilderness journey to the promised land. No other man in the history of creation, with the exception of Jesus, was able to access such a high and refined frequency of revelation in terms of quantity as well as quality, yet he himself was never able to enter in because of an internal deficiency that produced an unrighteous act – he allowed the people he was called to lead to frustrate him to the point of uncontrolled anger where he disobeyed the command of God and misrepresented Him before the people (Num 20:7-13; Ps 106:32, 33).

The apostles had spent the last 3 ½ years with Jesus interacting with Him and receiving key downloads of divine wisdom and heavenly insight directly from the mouth of God, yet with all the depth and accuracy of spiritual knowledge they possessed, they were still commanded to wait for the Spirit before attempting to fulfill their apostolic assignment (Acts 1:4, 5).

Jesus’ revelatory insight and understanding of the accurate architectural patterns and designs of God were way beyond the religious leaders of His time, even while he was still at the tender age of 12 (Luke 2:40-47). Yet, God had him wait another 18 years till He was fully matured before His mighty ministry would be manifested in the earth. And with all of His elevated sight while He was still a little boy, Jesus had still not received the Spirit’s empowerment for service until on the occasion when He was baptized by John (Luke 3:21, 22).

Jesus, with all of his elevated sight, wisdom and understanding of the scriptures, was still unqualified to reproduce Himself in the earth because He lacked the maturity and power of the Spirit necessary to truly validate His efforts.

The point is that it takes more than accuracy or elevated sight to produce the image of God in the earth – it takes the Spirit of God operating freely through a matured and yielded vessel! No amount of biblical knowledge or clever theological insight can substitute for the powerful inward working of the Holy Spirit – not even close! And even when we are able to access very high levels or frequencies of revelation by the Holy Spirit, that still doesn’t make us qualified to reproduce the image of Christ in the earth. This comes when we are able to allow that which is within us to envelop and empower us to the point where God’s presence can truly be made manifest through us. This brings us to the next two “I” words that form the pillars of effective ministry.

• Inspiration – Divine influence or guidance exerted directly on the mind, soul and spirit of a man.
• Impartation – The communication and transmission of something spiritual and beyond mere head knowledge or information.

These other two Is are important because they represent the ability that only comes from the Spirit of God and which adds life and substance to our ministry. Whereas the first two represented the dimension of the Word and requires diligent study on our part, these two represent the dimension of the Spirit and requires total dependence upon Him to do His part.

To operate in this dimension requires faith and a willingness to position ourselves in His presence until we are totally filled and saturated with His Spirit so that we become able (anointed) ministers of the Spirit and not just the Word only, “for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6).

As you can see, this type of ministry goes beyond mere information and head-knowledge which only targets the mind, and directly affects the spirit of a man. Man is a three-dimensional being (spirit, soul and body), so ministry must be approached from this perspective if it is to be effective in the earth. Jesus was capable of ministering to every dimension while here on earth, and so should we.

In this day and age, anyone can preach a “good” sermon by simply purchasing a few books or software titles which provide you with an outline, illustrations and even a few good jokes to help make it interesting, but without this spiritual dimension in operation it would be the same as an un-regenerate student studying the Bible as a future career while in college and having all the facts, yet lacking the spiritual capacity necessary to truly transform any lives.

There are many preachers today who have tried to “microwave” a message that they’ve gotten from these books or software titles and try to serve it to their congregations in the name of the “spirit” (“The Lord spoke to me last night as I was studying His word and He gave me this message…”). Others who are more studious, inquisitive or analytical by nature depend on their ability to cleverly extrapolate principles from Scripture and formulate a well structured and enticing message to get by, replete with fancy clichés and eye-catching visual aids or PowerPoint presentations to help make their message more appealing. But without this dimension of the Spirit all you’re creating is death.

On the other hand, one may be able to access all the frequencies and designs of heaven through an elevated spiritual perception or insight, yet lack the spiritual intensity to release it in the earth effectively. It cannot be overstated that having the ability to access powerful and profound levels of revelation and insight does not make us mature or capable ambassadors of the Kingdom. Unless we come to the place where that revelation has permeated our entire being, where we have fully assimilated the truth we have received and allowed it to mature within us to the point where it can be reproduced through us effectively, all we are is a bunch of extraordinary preachers and teachers with a very high degree of revelation and insight from heaven, yet incapable of reproducing an accurate image of Christ or His Kingdom in the earth.

We must understand that there is a big difference between having an ability to access truth and divine blue-prints from heaven, and being empowered by the Spirit to proclaim that truth effectively in the earth so that it deeply penetrates the hearts and minds of men to create a living reality. It is one thing to know the truth and another thing to be empowered to proclaim the truth with all of heaven confirming your word with signs following. We must be able to create more than a precise lifeless model, but a powerful living man – Christ Jesus – in the earth.

The ability to inspire men’s hearts as well as impart the tangible substance of God’s Kingdom comes from the Holy Spirit alone, and is birthed through intimate communion with God. There can be no substitute!