Raise the Standard
By Pastor Reindorf Mantey

Acts 11:26 And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Genuine Christianity is founded on the bedrock of true discipleship. The decline of biblical standard of Christianity today is a result of our lack of effective discipleship. We have a lot of enthusiastic church goers, fervent confessors of denominational doctrines, diligent religious workers but very few disciples. Though many Churches have elaborate discipleship programs, it has not produced the radical Christianity that can birth genuine revival.

The word “disciple” means a follower. Hence the quality of a disciple will be determined by the moral stature of the leader he follows. The weakening state of today's Christianity is a result of the moral state of our leaders. We have leaders who are talking the talk, excellent in doctrinal dynamics and yet are not living the life of Christ. If Christianity will revolutionize the world, our leaders must ascend to a higher moral altitude otherwise it will be another form of worldly organization disguised with ethical principles. The leaders cannot dwell in the spiritual valley of moral indiscipline and expect their congregation to be on the mountain of the Spirit. We will have to lead the way to the mountain so they can follow. Christ raised true disciples not only by pointing the way through His preaching but by leading through His lifestyle. He challenged the fishermen to follow and He will make them (Mt 4:19). Christ led them to where He wanted them to be. His moral altitude set up a platform from which His followers were transformed.

Mt 5:1-3 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying.......

Though the multitude had shown their commitment by congregating around Him, He was displeased about their location. They congregated around Him in the valley but He wanted them on the mountain. Their location was a typology of the state of their morality. What Christ saw in the multitude compelled him to change His location. Their commitment to Him might have been entire, yet Jesus was dissatisfied with the location of their lifestyle so He separated Himself to the mountain. The valley was not suitable to breed the caliber of followers that Jesus desired. Though they might be ethical, and committed in the valley, it was not acceptable to Christ till they moved to the mountain.

The multitude represents the lifestyle of the world. Jesus is not satisfied with a commitment that springs from a life of worldliness (Ja 4:4). There are many dedicated and diligent believers yet very worldly in nature. Biblical Christianity has declined in our era because our pews are filled with carnal believers who refuse to move into the mountain of the Spirit. Whatever has been birthed in the wrong location of the flesh has no spiritual significance before God. It is very important that we realize that our spiritual location will determine our acceptance or rejection by God. Your spiritual location dictates the state of your morality.

Where are you?

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, the Lord demanded where he was (Gn 3:9), not because the Lord was ignorant of his location but rather He questioned his moral position. Adam's moral location had changed hence whatever piety he expressed in this moral location was evil and could not be accepted by the Lord. The Lord will not accept your piety in the valley of the flesh. Those who will worship Him must do so in the Mountain of His Spirit (Jn 4:4)

Jesus went up because He was not going to build His ministry on the multitude though they had shown their commitment by congregating around Him. The moment He went up to the mountain the numbers of the multitude dwindled. Though He knew His separation will cost Him some people, He was not going to compromise His heavenly ethics to accommodate their earthly immoral lifestyle. The level of one's consecration will determine the kind of people who will hang around him. Those you tolerate around you is a reflection of the state of your morality. Your level of morality will determine the people you attract.

In our ambition to build mega churches we have compromised the high ethics of the Spirit to accommodate the life of the world. There are many Pastors who tone down the message of the cross so they could build up their worth as pastors before their worldly congregation. They tickle their ears with philosophical and emotional stirring sermons yet will not confront their worldly habits. These pastors judge their status by the number of their congregation. Your worth before God as a Pastor is not the size of your congregation but the quality of their morality. Paul declared to the Corinth Church that they were the seal of His apostleship. (1Cor 9:2). His worth as an Apostle was not the revelations he had, his social standing or churches he built but the moral quality of the members. The morality of the congregation is most often than not a reflection of the Pastor's. If many carnal believers are comfortable in the pews then the leader is carnal. When one teaches with the Spirit of God, those who are not ready to be transformed to higher morals will leave. Those who hang comfortably around you will determine the spirit with which you minister.

It was the intention of Jesus to raise disciples that is why He ascended to the mountain. Jesus could have taught them about discipleship in the valley and it would not have made them one because He was also in the valley. The location from which one speaks will determine the kind of spirit with which he speaks. The spirit with which one speaks will determine the kind of people he raises. We cannot raise disciples of the mountain by preaching with the spirit of the valley.
Before Christ's ascension, He commanded His disciples to tarry until they were endued with power from heaven to be effective witnesses of His kingdom. Though they knew the teachings of Christ, they could not be witnesses for Christ until they have ascended to higher spiritual altitude. They needed the right spirit to teach the gospel. Christ had commanded them to make disciples of all nations and it was necessary they had the right spirit to do so. The message of the cross alone cannot affect change in the world but it takes the Spirit of God. Until we ascend to the mountain and bask in God's presence, we will never speak by His Spirit. We have corrupted the gospel message by preaching it with the wrong spirit. We have increased in biblical knowledge, our rhetoric is flawless, religious dynamics are excellent yet we have not produced people who reflect what we preach because we preach with the wrong spirit. We preach righteous messages with wrong spirits hence we produce corrupted people.

2Cor 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

The moral sphere from which you stand determines the spirit with which you speak. No matter how ethical a message is, if it is preached with the wrong spirit it is a corrupted message. We need to speak from the presence of God to affect change. One can preach a spiritual message with a carnal spirit because he dwells in a carnal sphere. Many in our pews are not imparted or empowered to be transformed because they are listening to spiritual messages being preached by the wrong spirits. Jesus had spoken of the Pharisees being vipers trying to produce good things which was impossible ( Mt 12:34-35). Brothers and Sisters, we have “viper spirits” behind our pulpits preaching good things. Though they try to produce godly people, they are producing after their kind. The minister will always impart the spirit with which he preaches. Hence one can preach a righteous message and yet be imparting a devilish spirit. We have “vipers” in our pews because there are ministers preaching good messages with the viper spirit. It is not just the preaching that brings change but the spirit of the preaching. The pharisaic spirit of legalism, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy has taken root in our churches because we have a lot of pharisaic leaders who are white washing their dead philosophies with sensational dynamics and rhetoric.

Many leaders have seen perverse things about their congregations and they have fervently preached against it but have not seen no change because they preach with the spirit of the multitude. You produce after the spirit with which you preach. That is why we are so full of doctrines but the people are not becoming like Christ.

In the valley, the multitude could have been dedicated to Christ yet would not have been disciples. Disciples cannot be formed in the valley of immorality but on the mountain of holiness. Christianity is not founded on only doctrines but the power of the Spirit. We have accumulated revelations but have not increased our consecration. We have a form of godliness yet denying the power of the Holy Spirit. The power only comes through consecration not in experience in theatric or knowledge.

Christ was about to teach the multitude the beatitudes and He could not do it in the valley because they needed the spirit of the mountain to empower them to live it. We teach spiritual principles to carnal people and we expect them to live it. We have made the congregation to be hypocrites because we teach them what they cannot live. Until we encourage them to go the mountain, they will never be empowered to live what we preach.

Many leaders do not want to go to the mountain because they don't want to pay the price. It takes diligence, commitment and sacrifice. They will rather build their ministries with multitudes rather than get to the mountain with disciples because they don't want to pay the price. And because the congregation doesn't see the high morals in the leader, they cannot become Christians. If you are not willing to sacrifice yourself for the purpose of God you cannot live the life of a Christian. It takes commitment, discipline and holiness.

Your moral altitude will determine your spiritual vision

Mt 5:1-3 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying.......

The Lord refused to teach them the beatitudes in the valley because it would have done them no good. They needed a level of discipline and consecration to qualify them for the teaching of the mountain. It takes the mountain to transform a multitude to a disciple. The stature of discipleship is determined by the altitude of the mountain that a leader climbs. There are things that the Lord cannot teach you until you become a disciple. Discipleship is the key to unlock the mysteries of Christ. Your spiritual altitude will determine your spiritual vision or revelation. Your discipline will determine how you hear from God.

The potential of the congregation can be released by the leader. In the valley, the multitude had the potential to become disciples but it took Christ's action for them to be transformed. The potential of many of our congregation members have not been released because the leadership fails to ascend the spiritual ladder. We have many potential revivalists sitting in our pews but our leaders have failed to unlock their gifts and callings by leading them to a higher moral altitude in the Spirit. If Christ had not gone up to the mountain, the multitude would not have been transformed into disciples. They were multitudes in the valley but by the time they got to the mountain they were transformed to disciples. If He had stayed in the valley, He would have got Himself only multitude and not disciples. His action released their potential to become disciples. Every believer has the potential to become a disciple however; it will only be released into reality by the actions of the leader you follow. Discipleship has much more to do with lifestyle rather than doctrine. It is founded on practical emulations rather than just teachings. You will become what you follow not what you just hear. Christ raised disciples who did not understand much of His doctrines before His ascension but they were outstanding disciples because they followed the lifestyle of Christ. Though they were not educated in theology they had the Spirit of theology. We can teach phenomenal revelations of discipleship but if we don't follow the Spirit of the Christ we cannot become genuine Christians. In this era, we don't lack revelations but what we need is the Spirit of revelation to usher us into some Pentecostal experiences.

Ascend to the Mountain

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Our Spiritual ascension is determined by how much time we spend with God. The Spiritual altitude of every leader is determined by his discipline in prayer and commitment of obedience. When the leaders begin to wait on the Lord, He equips them to ascend into the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus which in turn frees them from the corruptions of carnality. You can then run and not be weary. Moreover walk and not faint. The life of discipleship must be initiated through relationship with the Lord not by just teaching principles of discipleship. The enemy has weakened the Church by distracting the leadership with much needed ministerial activities hence they have failed to wait on the Lord. Many have been pressured to minister to the congregation rather than ministering to the Lord. Until we learn to minister to the Lord, we will have nothing with which to minister effectively to the congregation. It is high time we realize that there are no legitimate excuses for absenting ourselves from the presence of the Lord. Until we wait on the Lord, our pews will be invaded by worldliness and this will quench the move of the Spirit. Let the leaders respond to the clarion call to the mountain for it is high time we raise the standard so we can raise radical Christians who will be channels for revival.