The Neck Ministry
One truth
that has helped me to change my walk and vision in God is the revelation that
we are becoming what we preach. It is
not enough to preach about salvation, praise, joy or life. Now we must become these things. 2
Corinthians 3:18 gives us the order of this evolvement.
2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with
open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (KJV)
We behold, and we keep beholding until we
become what we see. I see Jesus clothed
with the glory of the Father and if I stay on course and keep my eyes wide open
to His glory I will be changed. I will
BE. I will BE praise, salvation, glory,
honor, majesty, life, a song in the night, etc., etc. .
. What a transformation is taking place!
From corruptible to incorruption, from the old into the new, from
earthly things to heavenly things, He is changing me. But into what? I am afraid I find myself at the same loss of
knowledge of what to call this new man as the Apostle John was when He wrote:
John 3:2 - Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and
it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (KJV)
One reason
we are at such a loss of clarity on how to describe this form of new man has to
do with the complex subject matter.
After all, this is God we are talking about! Great God Almighty if you will! Who can fully describe His form? He has so many features and dimensions only a fool could say with confidence His form is
this or that. Maybe John understood this
more than all of us and therefore his candid admittance of ignorance concerning
the complete image of God. One thing
John seemed very sure of is that whatever the form is that we become, when we
are finished we will be LIKE Him!
Aha! How shall we become like
Him? Through seeing
Him as He IS. Remember, the way
we see now is through a glass darkly. We
must see Him through all our spiritual senses, not just sight. You may not understand this point if you have
had perfect vision all your life. I have
been labeled legally blind ever since I was 3 or 4 years old because of my poor
eyesight. Notice, I'm not totally blind
where you see nothing at all, but without thick glasses I could see something
but I couldn't tell you what. Just
blurred images and blended colors. As
happens with most handicaps that afflict the young, I adapted to my poor vision
and developed an acute awareness of things around me. I developed other senses, some of which I
lacked explanation for, seeing as to how they didn't seem to be listed among
the five known senses. I loved to play
baseball and football and basketball and tried to do it with my glasses on as I
couldn't see without them. But I was
constantly breaking them in our rough, no holds barred, sandlot
games. So, I started taking them off
after my father convinced me something else would be broken if I came home one
more time with a pair of broken glasses! As a result, I started to “feel” the
football rather than see it when it was passed and I sort of “knew” where the
hoop was, rather than aiming for what I actually saw. I became good enough to
go from the last one picked for a team to where eventually I was captain and
did the picking myself, with my glasses on of course! This is the reason why I understand how John
could have trouble “seeing” the image of God but he could readily “know” the
likeness. The total “vision” of God's
image was a blur but His likeness could be felt as much as seen.
This
brings us to the difference between form and function. We are made in the image and likeness of God
according to the Scripture. The human
body is a pattern of both the form and function of God. Much of the form is hidden from view. All that is seen usually is what is on the
surface. But the majority of what we are
made up of is under the skin in the form of organs and tissues and chemicals. Now to clarify my point of feeling versus
seeing, I have never seen the form of my heart with my naked eyes but I can put
my hand on my chest and feel the function of it any time I want. I'm glad my heart has a form to it but if you
asked me what I was most glad for I would say its function!
Bringing
this all into focus for us in our walk in God today I would pose this question
to us. Yes, we are “becoming” something
but what happens after we become? Is
there a purpose to our “becoming”? In
other words, are we thinking we are going to continue to BE and not have the
obligation to DO? There is life after
arrival! Staying with the pattern of the
temple that we are, we can observe that certain forms of organs are determined
by their function. The eye is a
prototype of today's video technology.
It is a highly complex camera that has been in existence since man was
first created. It's
features are: automatic focus; digital colorization; automatic adjustment for
light variations; dual camera vision, that is computer integrated into a single
image, and much more. All
this in a size that fits into two little sockets in your head. The ears
provide the highest quality of Dolby Stereo Surround Sound available
anywhere. If kept cleaned and oiled they
can pick up a wide range of varying decibels of sound and deliver them to the
brain static free.
You can
see how each form in our body is designed for a specific function and there are
as many different forms as there are functions.
Therefore, we can understand why the Lord cautions us about demanding
others around us to look and act just like we do. Most of the time we expect others to preach
and see what we preach and see. Whereas, they may be formed differently for a different function
than us. God help us to release
each vessel to be what God has fashioned them to be. Some to honor, others to
dishonor, some to strengthen through encouragement, others to strengthen
through trial and tribulation.
Some are comely, and others are uncomely. But all are God's.
I believe
nothing is created out of chance or fate, but all is created with a divine
design. Everything in the earth and
heavens were created by our Father with a designed form and function. The important thing to understand is that
whatever God creates has a design that reveals Him. Of course it all has a natural purpose that
it fulfills, but it also has a spiritual purpose that God wants revealed. First the natural, then the
spiritual. Within the last 100
years there has been a great advancement in the knowledge of the natural forms
and functions of this world of ours. Man
has taken the form and functions of Nature and has added his own slant on
things. They have learned how to fly
like a bird, swim like a fish, travel like a horse, and so on. We, as pioneers of a new and living way, also
must look beyond the obvious and see the hidden mystery encoded in the natural
things. By looking at the ultimate
design, which is the tabernacle that Moses was told to be sure to build
according to the pattern shown to him in the mount, which I believe to be the
human cell, we can see different ministries represented by natural organs. There are heart ministries, kidney
ministries, pancreas ministries, and so on.
The scripture says that Christ is the Head and the Church is the
Body. The head is the government of the
body. It receives information from the
body via the nervous system and circulatory system and sends vital information
back to the body through the same means.
I am sure
you have heard it preached for years, perhaps by me, that we are destined for a
headship ministry. Ever since I can
remember that has been the goal of everyone that saw a more excellent ministry. After all, it is the Head that symbolizes the
Throne of God and it is there where all power is. It speaks of kingship, ruling and reigning,
decision making, policy keeping, etc.. I must confess
that I have recently had a change of mind on what I believe our role is to be
in relation to the ministry of the Head.
If you were to ask me what I think is missing in the present Body of
Christ in form and function I would say that
we need to hear from God Himself and not man. We need a type of communication
from God that is pure and undefiled. I
recognize that I have fallen in love with the Body of Christ in a way that I
have not known before. I am sick and
tired of seeing the precious people of the most high
God in a state of affliction and neglect.
So many people seem to be involved with what they perceive to be their
goal of the High Calling. They say,
‘Don't bother me with your petty problems, I'm in a
higher order. Just think positive and
eventually the problem will go away. As
for me, I'm waiting at home for a lightning bolt to hit me on my head and
change me into an authority figure.’
I have
had, and sense in others, a bad attitude toward the Church System. To be sure, we know the System is death, but
in the belly of that System is a people that are made in the image and likeness
of God! They are in Hell and must have a visitation of the Righteous One! Who will go?
Certainly not those who have their eyes on a more lofty purpose, i.e., To “become” and “be”.
Some people have never learned how to advance in God without standing on
someone else's head! There is, sad to
say, in this word of life just as much competition for position and recognition
as in any other order. It is the old way
of advancement. You get up by putting
someone else down. This must stop if we
are to fulfill our duty to bring Christ to the world.
So, what
do I feel needs to be done in this Spiritual Body of Christ? We need a ministry that is a PART of the Head
and also a PART of the Body. There must
be a ministry that will bridge the gap between the paralyzed, lifeless Body and
the alive, functioning Head. To me, we
need to see a NECK MINISTRY. The neck is a part of the body that belongs
to both Head and body. Its function is
in providing a protected passage of communication and supplies between the Head
and Body. It is literally a tunnel
through which every nerve fiber and blood vessel must pass unimpeded to the
Head in order to have a FUNCTIONING organism.
Every command that the Head sends to the Body must go through the
neck. If the Head wants the finger to
scratch the nose, it sends a message via the spinal cord to the finger and
activates the arm and hand to reach the nose and scratch it. This rather simple task is only simple
because most of us have a functioning neck.
Howbeit, you could wind up with a bloody nose if the communications were
to be pinched and you lost control of your muscles. To understand the importance of the neck let
me put it this way. The Body can only
benefit from the Head as much as the neck will allow. It is for this reason I have purposed in my
heart to change my focus from being the Headship to being the Neckship.
God is
looking for men and women to express Himself through. When Moses met the Lord God in the burning
bush and developed an intimate relationship with Him, one of the unusual things
in the relationship was the way Moses could communicate with God. If the Lord wanted to talk with
Numbers 12:6-8
And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the
LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a
dream. My servant Moses is not so, who
is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even
apparently, and not in dark speeches, and the similitude of the LORD shall
he behold. Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
(KJV)
To be
sure, the Lord has and always will go to great extremes to keep a line of
communication open with His people. Even if He has to speak in plan B visions, dreams and dark
speeches. The Urim
and Thummim was given to the High Priest for this
very reason. Aaron couldn't hear from
God the way Moses did. Knowing that
Moses was not destined to be available for direction forever, the Lord devised
a way of speaking in a lesser capacity to the Aaronic
priesthood. None of the present scholars
can say for sure what the Urim and Thummim was in form. Some guess it was two or more objects that
were placed inside the breastplate of Aaron that in some way gave a “yes” or
“no” answer to a question given by the Priest of God. It was consulted in times of war or highly
important matters. No one knows for sure
what became of the Urim and Thummim
over the ages, much like the Ark of the Covenant. The fact remains that with Moses there was a
relationship of lengthy discourse with God, and with Aaron and his lineage
there was a short “yes” or “no”.
It is time
to bridge the gap of communication between man and God with a Neck Ministry
that will not tell God to start a plan B ministry because we are too weak in
our ability to express Him. Rise up you
mighty men of valor and present yourselves before the Lord! He will take you over and express Himself
through you. All He wants out of you is
a yielding Spirit and obedient heart. If
you give Him all that you are He will do the rest and speak for Himself. He needs vessels to manifest through. You are the pattern of the mount. You are the temple of the Holy Ghost, made
without hands, fashioned by the Hands of the Lord,
meet for His use, lively stones, a chosen generation. The Lord chose you, not man! How long are you going to let the things of
this world keep you from fulfilling your destiny in the plan of Redemption? Shake yourself! Wash your minds from all doubt and fear. Oh, that we would refuse to make God provide
another substitute for our unbelief. And
He will, if we refuse the call of the Lord.
Because He loves the world too much to keep it in
total darkness. He will continue
to speak to us in dark speeches and be seen behind cloudy glasses of expression
if necessary, until an obedient generation appears. But as for me and my house, we have
determined in our hearts that we will utter the words spoken long ago by Isaiah
and subsequently by every true believer since: “Also I heard the voice of the
Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for
us?’ Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Don't look for someone more eloquent, or better looking Lord, send me! You'll help my weakness and through it I will
become strong.
The neck
is supported by seven vertebrae. The top
two vertebrae of the neck are given specialized terms as they are different
from the other five in form and function.
Much can be said about the spiritual significance of this distinction
and the distinction between the fivefold ministry and the King and Priest
ministries. Neither does away with the
other but there is a distinct difference in form and function. The first vertebrae in the
neck is situated at the base of the skull and acts as a seat upon which
the head rests. The medical field has
chosen to call this vertebrae by a special name, which
is ATLAS. This is evidently taken from the Greek
mythology that has to do with Zeus banishing Atlas to the task of bearing the
world upon his shoulders. I hope you
don't have any false imaginations about what this Word is requiring out of
you. If you are not burdened in your
Spirit, and carrying the world on your shoulders, then you are not as far along
in God as you may think. When the
Scripture says that Saviors will come from
We need a
ministry that will hold the Head up from the earth that He may draw all men
unto Himself! We will gladly bear the
burden of the sick and afflicted until they arrive at their appointed
visitation. We are not to be hirelings
who are not anywhere to be found when trouble comes, but we have the spirit of
the Shepherd who declares, “For this reason I am come into the world!” “COME
unto me all ye who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest”. Jesus said that the foxes have holes and the
birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. Well, now he has a Neck Ministry that will
bear His head to the world and they are not ashamed to be called His
Son-Servants. The part of the seven-fold
ministry that the Atlas represents is the Priest. The priest bears the sins of the world and
esteems each man perfect in the Lord until each is processed into that reality. They remit sins rather than retaining
them. They love the loveless and pray
for their enemies. They awake in the
middle of the night and minister for the needs that the Lord presents before
them. They hold back nothing, but give
their all. They are the Atlas of the
Corporate Man.
The second
vertebrae that is specialized in the neck is the Axis. It is situated directly under the Atlas. The dictionary says this about the word Axis:
“A straight line about which a body or geometrical object rotates or may be
conceived to rotate”. The word “axle” comes from this word. The reason this
term is used for this particular vertebrae is because it is used to nod the
head and give mobility to it. So it
dictates how far the head can swivel and nod.
The word Axis speaks of stability and symmetry. The line it represents is the absolute center
of an object around which everything else revolves. This is the Kingship of the seven-fold
ministry. Remember, Kingship isn't just
power in the natural, as Saul found out.
A King is at his best when he represents stability and security. The kingdom revolves around the throne of the
King. As the King is, so is the
kingdom. What we don't need in this day
is a leadership who are powerful in the Scriptures but
are desperately lacking in love and respect.
We need leadership that have such character and maturity that they can
walk into our midst and immediately we are covered with an atmosphere of safety
and well-being. Many preachers are great
at screaming out the themes of revelation but they have such a negative
attitude toward the Body of Christ, it gives you a feeling of uneasiness when
you are around them.
I was in
one meeting within the last two years where a minister that I had heard a lot
about was getting ready to preach. I was
anxious to hear him because I had heard such conflicting opinions on him, I wanted to hear him for myself. Well, he was clearly in a bad state of mind,
as he proceeded to rant and rave against everything he thought we all stood
for. I actually thought he was going to
have a nervous breakdown right in front of me, as he strove to set us
straight. After about 20 minutes of this
nonsense, he realized he wasn't getting any response from the congregation, and
proceeded to try to set us at ease by telling us not to worry, he was just
performing brain surgery in the Spirit.
I've got to tell you folks, if I were in a hospital getting ready to
have brain surgery, and my doctor came into the room looking like that preacher
looked, I would be anything but at ease!
If anybody is going to operate on my brain they better have steady hands
and a reasonable amount of peace.
I hear a
voice from the Heavenlies crying out to the House of
the Lord, “Peace, be still! The King is
in
Another
aspect of the Neck Ministry is that it is within the neck that the vocal chords
are located. Without the vocal chords
you can articulate with your mouth perfectly but it will not edify anyone,
since the sound is missing. Sound is
created when air is forced through the vocal chords and they vibrate creating
what we know to be our voice. The Lord
wants a voice to be heard in the Land. A
sound of many waters, thunderings, roarings and such has been heard throughout the ages, but
now the Lord wants a clear, articulate VOICE.
As you may
know, some people have had to have their vocal chords removed because of cancer
or some other disease. They can still
talk by obtaining a handheld vibrator that makes a vibrating noise that they
hold against their neck and they can communicate by giving the noise
articulation through their mouth. Thank
the Lord for this substitute, as it is better than being mute and depending on
gestures. But if I may use this as an
example of our situation in the Lord, this is the way we have had to hear from
the Lord. Anyone that has gone through
this will tell you how limited it is.
Recently the Lord impressed me to preach that we must have the Spirit of
Excellence in our midst. In other words,
we must quit being satisfied with mediocrity in our times of coming together in
the services. Some have said, “Well, you
can't stay in the high realm all the time!
Sometimes we hit it and sometimes we don't”. This is settling for
mediocrity! Who says we can’t hit the
highest place the Lord has for us in EVERY service? I’ll tell you who says that, the lazy and the
unbelieving! Why shouldn't we hit the
ultimate every time we gather? I say it
isn't just possible, it is vital!
The Lord
has had to sound this Word out of us in a garbled, imitation manner for too
long! He doesn't want to just make noise
through us! He wants to SING through us!
He wants to express the full range of His voice and fill our ears with the
sound of His nature! He wants to woo us
with the sound of His never-ending love, raise us to dizzying heights on the
wings of His voice fully manifested through a people that function as His vocal
chords. We haven't REALLY heard Him yet,
but all He wants is a ministry to stand up in Him and sit down in themselves. As Rev. Charles E. Rhyne
ministered in one glorious service, the Lord spoke to him and said, “Now son,
I'm going to show you what I can do!”. Show us Lord! Reveal your fullness to us and then through
us to creation.
I pray you
will rededicate yourself to the purpose of God in your life my dear
friend. The time is short and the
pressure is on. Its do or die for many
in this day. Some are finding themselves
in straits that they thought would never come upon them. I find myself at a loss for words when
confronted with the dire situations I see some dear ones facing. I hate to see suffering on anyone, but it
really strikes home when you see it on those close to you. All I know Is that
as we continue to pray and speak words of life to these in our midst, there
must be something more done. If, one by
one, we fix our hearts on becoming whatever is needed in this day, I must
believe that we will see miracles in our midst like we have never seen
before. Not through any one man or
woman, but through a Corporate Expression of many diverse ministries. Each one different in form and function but
each one an integral part of what the Lord wants to accomplish today. I only hope you will reevaluate your goals in
the Lord. As I said before, I no longer
pray to be in the Headship company. My prayer now is, “Use me where I am NEEDED
the most”. I am sure many seek the
privilege of a TITLE such as headship.
However, we already have a Head.
His name is Jesus Christ. We
already have a Body, it is called The Ekklesia. What we desperately need is a ministry that
will connect the Head to the Ekklesia and make the
two into one functioning organism. That
missing link is the NECK.
Written By
Bob Torango