THE LAW OF REPEATED AND SUSTAINED MINISTRATIONS
THE LAW OF REPEATED AND SUSTAINED MINISTRATIONS
Jos 6:6-16 KJV 6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD. 7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD. 8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. 10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. 11 So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. 12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. 14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. 15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. 16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
Most of us are familiar with the story of the conquest of Jericho.. God had promised Joshua that He had given them Jericho.
Jos 6:1-2 KJV 1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
Because of Israel, Jericho was locked up so that none went out or came in. The reason why many of us cannot access some place of joy and miracles is because they are locked up like Jericho but in the name of Jehovah , every locked place shall open up by fire in Jesus name.
The Lord said He had given them Jericho but they had to compass Jericho around for seven days and on the seventh day they had to compass the city seven times. As far as God is concerned, Jericho was already a defeated city but the children of Israel had a job to do.
Why did God give them this kind of instruction? Why can’t they compass once and get it done? What is the rationale behind seven days and seven times on the seventh day? What was God going to achieve?
Jericho was a strong city and happened to be the first city the children of Israel encountered in their venture to Canaan land.
It takes faith and obedience to receive things that are already ours.
Our faith is the victory which overcometh the world. It was faith which obtained the victory over Jericho. A faith which trusted in the Lord; a faith which acted in obedience to the divinely given instructions. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed for about seven days” (Heb 11:30 ).
that the perseverance and continuance in faith and the actions thereof, at last obtaineth the victory
It takes faith to be patient, quiet and not complaining in the face of Jericho.
One of the expressions of faith in the account is what I called the law of repeated and sustained ministration. It is the evidence that we trust God, we will obey Him and that we will not give up until we obtain victory.
This is the principle that is outlined in many places in the Bible and gives heroes of faith their victories.
Naaman
2Ki 5:10 KJV And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
Why did Elisha ask him to bathe seven times? Why can’t he bathe once and become healed?
It is the same principle at work. it is not that Naaman cannot be cleansed in one bath. A command is given which tests the faith of the recipient, and the miracle is not performed until such faith is openly evidenced
To repeat a formal act six times with- out perceiving any result, and yet to persevere and repeat it a seventh time, requires a degree of faith and trust that men do not often possess.
Where did Elisha learn this principle from? He must have learnt it from Elijah, his master.
1Ki 17:18-22 KJV 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
Why did he do it three times? Law of repeated and sustained
Elijah applied the same law when he prayed for rain after the contest at mount carmel
1Ki 18:43-44 KJV 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
He would have been discouraged but he sustained the tempo till seventh time when a small could showed up. If you remain and sustain, the devil will give up.
Elisha knew so much about this law that when he was about to die he instructed the king of Israel to do something symbolic and when the king did not do it as he expected he was very angry with the king
2Ki 13:18-19 KJV 18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. 19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
The king is like many of us. Either because we don’t take the symbolic seriously or joke with the things of the lord or because we easily give up, we miss total victory.
God had been willing to give the Israelites complete victory over Syria 2Ki 13:17; but Joash by his non-acceptance of the divine promise in its fullness had checked the outflow of mercy; and the result was that the original promise could not be fulfilled.
Did the prophetic symbol come to pass?
2Ki 13:25 KJV And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.
yes he beat him three times according to the word of Elisha but it was not a total victory.
God wants us to demonstrate faith and consistency. It was the same law that God used when He bombarded Pharaoh with plaques. Nine plaques were used, the last was what Pharaoh used to push Israelites out by fire by force. that power will let you go by fire today in Jesus name.
There was a time when Pharaoh saw respite and he hardened his heart and would not let them go Ex 8: 15 But when the bombardment continued, he could not withstood it.
Don’t give the enemy respite, apply the law and you will have victory.
WHAT OF NEW TESTAMENT
The same principle and law is there. Jesus the Son of God prayed for the blind man twice before he could receive full recovery.
Mar 8:23-25 KJV 23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
it was not because Jesus had not enough faith, but the law of consistent, persistent and sustained ministration was applied..
Jesus did it that way so that he might administer his power in increasing measures, as the faith of the recipient waxed stronger
If Jesus had left him after the first ministration, he would have been seen vaguely and as trees but he received full recovery after the second ministration.
It is the only recorded example of a progressive cure, and it certainly illustrates similar methods in the spiritual kingdom.
Another time in the New Testament was when Jesus prayed for His disciples to receive the Holy Spirit.
John 20:22 KJV And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Did they receive the Holy Spirit? yes they did but it was not in full measure until after His departure and on the day of Pentecost.
Act 4: 8 Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost, Act 4:31 they were all filled with Holy Spirit and Act 13:52 they were filled with Holy Spirit.
When Jesus encountered the madman of Gadarene, he commanded the devils to come out of the man. But it was not a once and for all command.
Mar 5:8 KJV For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
The Greek verb used there is an imperfect tense. For he said. For he had been saying (progressive imperfect). Jesus had already repeatedly ordered the demon to come out of the man where the demon made his outcry to Jesus and protested. The imperfect gives the reason for this strange entreaty of the demon. Jesus was commanding, was saying “come out;”
Does it mean that Christ has no power to cast him out once and for all? No, he chose to do it that way to teach us a lesson. The devils don’t want to leave their comfort zone and will do everything to frustrate you, pretend and beguile but you have to be like the Master. Continue to say it.
Conclusion
That we repeat a faith action is not evidence of lack of faith but evidence of our trust and assurance in the ability of God’s power for a turn around miracles.
It is also a demonstration of our faith that will not take NO for answer for what we know that it is the will of God.
It is also a clear evidence that we are not discouraged, deterred, disappointed in God
It is a good practice for intercessory prayers. We can pray intercessory prayers as many times as possible.
and finally
It is evidence of the great virtue of patience. Patience is active faith over a long period and it is true faith and patience that the patriarch obtained victory.
Heb 6:12 KJV That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
We are encouraged to ask and we will receive. But most times it is not once for all asking. This is the way the Amplified Bible renders it.
Matthew 7:7-8 Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.
The parable of the man that has a friend in the night, he kept knocking his friend’s door and because of his importance and shamefacedness, the door was opened to him. Lk 11: 1-8
The widow and the unjust judge, the judge answered the woman because she would not give up. She was repeating and was persistent in her course for justice. Lk 18:1-6
Luk 18:5 KJV Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
When blind Bartimeaus was calling on Jesus, he did not call once and kept quiet, he kept shouting till he was given attention.
Mar 10:48 KJV And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
The same is about the Canaanite woman, she besought the Lord on behalf of her daughter. but Jesus did not answer her at first but she kept following them and crying.
Mat 15:23 KJV But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
The disciples had to be sought by Jesus to do something for the woman not because they had compassion on her but so that they could be allowed to rest. They range themselves on the woman”s side, not from any genuine compassion, but from mere selfishness. The ground of their appeal is, She crieth after us. The appeal had been first made in the open street, and the Canaanite had followed them, as they moved, continuing her piteous cry, and thus attracting attention to them and defeating their hope of retirement and rest. So they, for their own peace and comfort, ask Christ to grant the prayer of this obstinate suppliant
Most brethren will say, Pastor has prayed for me, there is no need to come out again or disturb Pastor and everyone will say why am i still coming for prayers. It is not like that if you apply the law, it will work for you. Some people say how long will I continue to repeat the same action of faith which I call the corresponding action of faith? Isaiah has a good answer for us:
Isa 62:6-7 KJV 6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, 7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Even the psalmist says the same thing:
Psa 35:27 KJV Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.